Why Hustle Culture is Killing Productivity (and People)

We’ve dressed it up with trendy names—Hustle Culture, Rise and Grind, Workaholism—but underneath the glossy Instagram quotes and “sleep when you’re dead” memes lies something far less glamorous: burnout culture. It’s the toxic normalization of exhaustion as a badge of honor, 60+ hour workweeks as a point of pride, and unpaid overtime as “just part of the job.” In this episode of the Beyond Burnout Podcast, host Shelley Boyd—author of Beyond Burnout: The Over-Achiever’s Guide to Beating Burnout for Good—pulls back the curtain on the cult-like mentality that rewards self-sacrifice over sanity. She shares personal stories from the music industry’s grueling production schedules, eye-opening research on how overwork destroys creativity and productivity, and the shocking prevalence of unpaid overtime. You’ll also discover the law of diminishing returns in action—why more hours rarely mean better results—and hear two powerful action steps you can take right now to reclaim your time and sanity: calculating your real hourly wage and taking intentional, brain-boosting breaks. If you’ve ever felt guilty for leaving work “on time” or saying no to extra hours, this episode will remind you of a truth burnout culture doesn’t want you to know: you are more than your job title, your paycheck, or your productivity. To dive deeper, check out my new book, Beyond Burnout: The Over-Achiever’s Guide to Beating Burnout for Good.

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