This is so interesting and helpful in critiquing the conflation of capitalism and work. I wonder how this sits for people who for one reason or another have to work jobs they don't like or find meaningful but need money to live.
I think your last paragraph hints at it in making our work meaningful, and perhaps I might add that the work that earns our means of survival doesn't have to be the same as the work we find meaningful?
I remember a story about Toni Morrisson's dad saying something to her like 'it's just a cheque. Focus on getting the cheque, and then coming home.' The idea being that sometimes, it's okay for work to be about the cheque... I duno, I think there's something quite middle class in our attitude towards work needing to be meaningful, a trap I myself seem to sometimes fall in to! Love your last line though... not all work is the same, or has to achieve the same outcomes, and that's A-OK!
As someone born in the 2000s, I have felt nothing but disdain towards 'hustle culture', but I also don't really see the appeal of induvidualised, instagrammable ideas of self-care. To me, both seem like an uncritical response to doomerism. Thank you for sharing this! I always look forward to reading your posts. Sending much love <33
Anagha! I love your comments. What is your approach to work, out of curiosity, and how does hustle culture appear to you? I'm so curious about how the millennial mindset has impacted the next generation...
I haven't fully stepped into the corporate world as of yet (finishing up uni), so i don't really... have one. When it comes to internships, it's mostly coding so I like to be told what the end product is supposed to look like then try to get there by the deadlines. I didn't get on social media till the pandemic so my view of hustle culture comes from people around me and it's quite old-fashione; earn a lot of money and success during your youth, 'settle' (get married, get a house, get a kid), then retire happily. I think it's the concept of success that escapes me. I see no reason to overexert myself in my profession. Maybe it's because I'm not too fond of this field, and think there are causes worth more towards which I can and do redirect my effort. I'm doing pretty well for myself though, so I do think that more than the effort, it's the lack of passion that makes me feel disconnected from hustler culture as a whole. While I understand their drive to be better at what they do, I don't share their enthusiasm.
This was an incredible piece. I'm not a millennial (X here) but this really resonated - and also made my brain feel five times bigger. Unhooking work from capitalism feels such a powerful thing to do. Thank you for this, I'll be thinking about it for a good long while!
This piece rang me like a tuning fork! I'm gen X, but this article reminded me of a lot of the decisions I've made in my working life. I studied biology, though my deep love was literature, because my parents wanted me to go to med school and I thought I could do that and then grad school for English and then teach both (lolololololol sweet, summer 20-year-old me). I had a deeply traumatic experience in a 4th year bio lab and that same day decided to stay an extra year to do the coursework I'd need for grad school in English lit. I got in, and crashed out (burnout/breakdown) when I got to my orals, and saw the thankless, cutthroat life ahead in academia.
I've now been a public library worker at the bottom of the "career" ladder for 19 years, and steadfastly refuse to climb further. This job, right here, lets me be my best self--helping people to knowledge and company and hope and joy. Do I wish it paid more? Yes (and that's why I'm a union rep, too)! Do I see myself happy doing anything else? Hell no.
I watch with real, deep interest what my kids (one Z, one Alpha) will make of their working lives.
I freelance in UK. Sometimes I work for clients in USA. The degree of commitment to work, career and the hustle that I witness in them - actually the entire culture of work in USA and the way that personal identities get sedimented into work ones - is terrifying. I've worked with clients who set alarms at 4 am to have a call with me, then spend an hour on their PhD thesis before going into the office for a full day's work. I yearn for degrowth and for us all to embrace our full humanity and kick that shit out of our heads.
This is so interesting and helpful in critiquing the conflation of capitalism and work. I wonder how this sits for people who for one reason or another have to work jobs they don't like or find meaningful but need money to live.
I think your last paragraph hints at it in making our work meaningful, and perhaps I might add that the work that earns our means of survival doesn't have to be the same as the work we find meaningful?
I remember a story about Toni Morrisson's dad saying something to her like 'it's just a cheque. Focus on getting the cheque, and then coming home.' The idea being that sometimes, it's okay for work to be about the cheque... I duno, I think there's something quite middle class in our attitude towards work needing to be meaningful, a trap I myself seem to sometimes fall in to! Love your last line though... not all work is the same, or has to achieve the same outcomes, and that's A-OK!
As someone born in the 2000s, I have felt nothing but disdain towards 'hustle culture', but I also don't really see the appeal of induvidualised, instagrammable ideas of self-care. To me, both seem like an uncritical response to doomerism. Thank you for sharing this! I always look forward to reading your posts. Sending much love <33
Anagha! I love your comments. What is your approach to work, out of curiosity, and how does hustle culture appear to you? I'm so curious about how the millennial mindset has impacted the next generation...
I haven't fully stepped into the corporate world as of yet (finishing up uni), so i don't really... have one. When it comes to internships, it's mostly coding so I like to be told what the end product is supposed to look like then try to get there by the deadlines. I didn't get on social media till the pandemic so my view of hustle culture comes from people around me and it's quite old-fashione; earn a lot of money and success during your youth, 'settle' (get married, get a house, get a kid), then retire happily. I think it's the concept of success that escapes me. I see no reason to overexert myself in my profession. Maybe it's because I'm not too fond of this field, and think there are causes worth more towards which I can and do redirect my effort. I'm doing pretty well for myself though, so I do think that more than the effort, it's the lack of passion that makes me feel disconnected from hustler culture as a whole. While I understand their drive to be better at what they do, I don't share their enthusiasm.
I didn't realise the comment got so long, my tendency to ramble took over.
This was an incredible piece. I'm not a millennial (X here) but this really resonated - and also made my brain feel five times bigger. Unhooking work from capitalism feels such a powerful thing to do. Thank you for this, I'll be thinking about it for a good long while!
This piece rang me like a tuning fork! I'm gen X, but this article reminded me of a lot of the decisions I've made in my working life. I studied biology, though my deep love was literature, because my parents wanted me to go to med school and I thought I could do that and then grad school for English and then teach both (lolololololol sweet, summer 20-year-old me). I had a deeply traumatic experience in a 4th year bio lab and that same day decided to stay an extra year to do the coursework I'd need for grad school in English lit. I got in, and crashed out (burnout/breakdown) when I got to my orals, and saw the thankless, cutthroat life ahead in academia.
I've now been a public library worker at the bottom of the "career" ladder for 19 years, and steadfastly refuse to climb further. This job, right here, lets me be my best self--helping people to knowledge and company and hope and joy. Do I wish it paid more? Yes (and that's why I'm a union rep, too)! Do I see myself happy doing anything else? Hell no.
I watch with real, deep interest what my kids (one Z, one Alpha) will make of their working lives.
I freelance in UK. Sometimes I work for clients in USA. The degree of commitment to work, career and the hustle that I witness in them - actually the entire culture of work in USA and the way that personal identities get sedimented into work ones - is terrifying. I've worked with clients who set alarms at 4 am to have a call with me, then spend an hour on their PhD thesis before going into the office for a full day's work. I yearn for degrowth and for us all to embrace our full humanity and kick that shit out of our heads.