Hustle culture describes a social norm that glorifies constant work, long hours and always-on responsiveness as markers of worth.
The stance can boost short bursts of output, but research on workload and performance suggests diminishing returns and rising error rates as fatigue and stress accumulate.
Common side effects include presenteeism, shallow work from frequent interruptions and neglect of recovery that supports learning and creativity.
Useful counters are clear priorities, single-tasking for depth, time boxing to cap effort, recovery routines (sleep, daylight, movement) and norms that separate availability from value.