Hustle culture is destroying our clients. It's time they let their impossible standards crash to the ground | Gaynor Parkin and Dave Winsborough

"In our work we increasingly see people struggling not because they are failing at productivity and hustle, but because they are succeeding at it too well. Phil sought guidance after a health scare. A successful senior manager at a national health service (this irony wasn't lost on him), his days were always hectic with back-to-back meetings, a huge team to manage, and operational duties that made it difficult for him to take time off."

"For them and, in fact, many of us, we see this pattern clearly in other people but rarely in ourselves. We spot the signs a colleague is burning out, a friend is chronically over-committed, or when a partner is running on fumes. We offer wise counsel: breathe."

"All three described a similar pattern: a strong internal drive to be productive, combined with daily habits of doing everything at pace. For Ariana, there was genuinely little slack in the system. For Phil and Murray, some flexibility existed. But psychologically, for all of them, any solutions felt unavailable."

Many high-performing professionals maintain relentless productivity and pace despite experiencing exhaustion, health issues, and diminished decision-making. This pattern combines strong internal drive for achievement with daily habits of rushing through tasks. Examples include Ariana balancing childcare with work calls, Phil managing health problems while maintaining a demanding senior role, and Murray juggling work, family, and caregiving responsibilities. These individuals struggle to recognize their own burnout patterns, though they easily identify similar signs in others. The cult of productivity and hustle culture reinforce this unsustainable lifestyle, creating psychological barriers to implementing solutions even when flexibility exists.

Read at www.theguardian.com