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The media still treats Gen Z like a species to be decoded, and one of the last surviving myths about us is that we’re masters at setting professional boundaries. So, am I a failed Gen Z, or is dismissing hustle culture more complicated in reality? Honestly, I still feel guilty when I don’t overwork.
Hustle culture is a modern work mentality that glorifies productivity, one that everyone assumes every single Gen Z is rejecting.
Colleen Batchelder from Forbes points out that while millennials are the icons of the hustle mindset, Gen Z tends to prioritize life balance, job security, and competitive salaries with benefits. But let’s be honest: wanting these things is one thing, actually having them is another.
Since the pandemic, job conditions have started to change as remote work became more common. Now, we have flexibility to choose where to carry out our tasks from, but our professional responsibilities often extend beyond regular hours. Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that the traditional 9-to-5 is being replaced by what they call the ‘infinite workday.’
As the boundaries of professional life effectively dissolve, traditional working hours are disappearing. It’s becoming increasingly common to receive a message from your boss at 10pm saying you need to finish a project by morning or inviting you to a new urgent meeting in an hour. Especially in the corporate world.
So it’s no surprise that Deloitte found that 46 percent of Gen Z and 39 percent of millennials report feeling burned out due to their professional setting. The same survey shows that most people work outside regular hours at least once a week and feel pressure to remain constantly available.
Plus, the culture of constant productivity runs so deep that it can even appear disguised as self-improvement, as in the new TikTok trend called ‘The Great Lock-In.’ Although this trend aims to encourage people to complete their New Year’s resolutions before the end of 2025, the language often prioritizes results over wellbeing, with slogans like ‘no excuses for the next 90 days.’
@.nickhalden #lockin ♬ не расслабляйся – Скриптонит
Why escaping hustle culture isn’t easy, even if you reject it
Even though we define hustle culture as a mindset, it frequently manifests as a set of formulaic expectations imposed by companies, or even by our peers. These make it especially hard to escape if you want to get promoted or even just keep your job in a competitive market.
For example, Moodle’s research shows that 66% of Americans experienced some level of burnout in 2025. The rate rises as high as 81% among young people aged 18 to 24. Tanya Tianyi Chen interprets this high number as a result of the competitive job market for Impact. According to Chen, people are unable to leave their jobs even when they are dissatisfied, whether financially or psychologically.
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Another article by Nardos Haile for Impact shows that while Gen Z contributes significantly to their future, many still struggle to make a living. Some even dip into their retirement funds to make it through the month. Similarly, Redfin’s report shows that 70% of Gen Zers struggle to afford their rent payments.
All these economic pressures have given rise to the idea of ‘job hugging,’ where people stay in roles they dislike simply because they provide stability, according to Tanya Tianyi Chen. As job hugging becomes more common among Gen Z, it becomes much more difficult to escape hustle culture due to financial pressures.
