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“He’d Be Too Exhausted”: 32-Year-Old Dies Because Of Hustle Culture, His Friend Shares How Sad His Life Was
Wake up. Check your phone. Brush your teeth. Go to the gym. Run to work. Grind away and barely find time to eat. Head home. Succumb to the urge to check your email and get ahead of your tasks. Go to sleep. And do it all over again tomorrow.
Sounds familiar? Well, welcome to the grind culture where working harder, stronger, faster, and giving 110% of your effort will definitely pay off. For thousands of employees worldwide who are obsessed with exerting themselves to maximum capacity, the hustle has basically become a lifestyle. But even though the corporate world glorifies ambition and sees 18-hour work days as the new norm, it doesn’t come without a cost.
This heartbreaking post shared on the ‘Anti Work’ subreddit is here to remind us of that. A few days ago, Redditor Otherwise_Order621 opened up about how his “hustle culture” friend recently died from a heart attack at only 32 years old. And just to warn you, it might make you take a good look at your own life right now. Scroll down to read their impactful story in full, as well as similar experiences readers were quick to share, and be sure to let us know what you think below in the comments.
RELATED:
Recently, this person shared a heartbreaking story about how the hustle culture took their friend’s life
Image credits: Hannah Wei (not the actual photo)
Image credits: christopher lemercier (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Ian Taylor (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Otherwise_Order621
No matter the industry, people continually fall victim to the hustle culture that asks them to grind and accomplish their goals and dreams at lightning speed, no matter the price. While working hard is important for many, there has to be a line where you have to ask yourself, is it worth it?
Overwork can have drastic effects on your health and well-being, not to mention strain personal relationships and lower satisfaction with life. After all, when everyone tries to outperform each other, it’s essentially a rat race to the finish line — the finish line being stress, fatigue, burnout, and, surprisingly, poor performance.
As many of us know from practice, the hours clocked in don’t equal productivity. So many people are now finding more meaning and motivation to work smarter instead of harder, and it seems we may be moving into a post-hustle future. A Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice study has found that 64% of Americans now value energy optimization over monetary optimization. “Americans are deliberately cultivating, protecting, and optimizing their personal energy, focusing on essentials over the urgent.”
According to Laura Kingston, a UK-based coach specializing in career transition and progression, our jobs should not dictate our lives. “We work for the majority of our lives so it’s important to find work you love, that you are happy in, gain fulfillment and work to your strengths,” the founder of Leap Career Coaching told Bored Panda in an email.
However, when people feel the urge to work harder and faster, thinking I will be happy when: I get the promotion, earn more money, have a better car, they “can miss the point of being happy now in this moment as life whizzes by.”
Alarmingly, when employees become too focused on their work and the hours they need to clock in to succeed, self-care becomes an afterthought. When this seems to be the case, people should realize they’re in a cycle of performative exhaustion.
“Self-care is imperative in our lives,” Kingston explained. “The way I help remind my clients to do this is to act as a role model for their team at work, friends, family and children. Many of my clients struggle with putting themselves first, so this perspective can really help shift their mindset.”
Feeling like you have to burn out to show that you have grit or that you need to neglect your well-being and eliminate every healthy boundary between your life and your job can take its toll. So to help you be more productive and work smarter, Kingston suggested, “Focus on your own agenda, what do you need to achieve today?”
“Learn how to manage up and prioritize effectively, for example, say Yes, of course, I would be happy to deliver that for you, what would you like me to deprioritize to make space for that now?”
“Utilize the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize work. Plan your work weekly to not lose sight of key goals and objectives and plan in thinking/strategy time into your diary,” Kingston concluded.
Readers immediately offered condolences and responded with messages of support
Later on, the user also clarified some details about the situation and addressed the questions people asked in the comments
And others chimed in with similar experiences, revealing the truth about the grind culture
What do you think ?
Carol Emory 3 years ago
My father spent 45 years working as a Diesel Mechanic. He worked 16 hour days, 6 days a week. We hardly saw him at all. And when he was home, he was usually in charge of decompressing all the tension in the house that my mother caused. When he retired, his knees were shot, he had diabetes, was overweight and had high blood pressure. He waited to retire until he was 67 because he wanted full pension and a sizable 401k. He tried to say he did it so us kids would have an inheritance. I told him I would have rather had him around. Shortly after retirement, he developed Alzheimer's and never got to go fishing and camping like he planned to do for years. He died in 2019 calling for his mother who died with Alzheimer's 17 years earlier. Don't waste your life working for a perception of what you think your family wants. Talk to each other so you don't miss out on precious time with each other. Find out what your family really wants. Live for your family, not your job.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I don't mind loving my job. My family doesn't get the short end, however, and I spend a lot of time convincing my hubby to take time off. My dad had big plans for his retirement years, never got to 55. My sis died at 26. Live! b/c dying is inevitable, so don't assume it waits until you're ready.
Load More Replies...
Terry Rex 1 year ago
Not if you are born wealthy. Then you don't have to work at all. Just spend the money you inherited. Normal people have to work to survive. That is the problem.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
As an MD, what jumped at me was "used cocaine occasionally". News flash: That sh*t turns your heart into a ticking time bomb. Faster than nicotine. So, without knowing the full autopsy report with toxicology? I will not say overwork killed him. Lifestyle, possibly ------ but cocaine doesn't need to be used in the now to be a factor in kill.
Lara Verne 3 years ago
He planned to retire early.... He did not live long enough to retire. Some jobs cause a lot of stress, even if you don't work more than 40 hours a week. He was making a lot of money, but with constant working and no time for anything else, not even sleep, it was recipe for disaster. Not worth it. My condolences.
David Brown 3 years ago
When I hit the work force after highschool I had a screwed up view of what it meant to be a "good" employee. I'd be the first one in and the last one out every day. I'd pick up extra work after I finished my own duties. I'd do all I could to learn how to do other jobs inside the company to make myself more valuable. The amount of work and time I put in made me a miserable zombie. I had plenty of money but no time to enjoy it. I lost all my friends but I always figured I could make more when I got the chance to slow down later in life. I found out too late that it would never happen. It's like putting your finger in a glass of water. While it's there it leaves a mark but as soon as it's removed you would never it had been there at all. It's the exact same way working at any company. You are nothing more than a number and a warm body filling a position. I ruined my own life being greedy. Any one that takes the time to read this I hope you slow down and enjoy life as it was meant to be.
SheamusFanFrom1987 3 years ago
Asian culture and mindset often pretty much pressured me into working hard in school and later on, at work. Took one or two relatives kicking the bucket at relatively young ages for the older generation to finally shut their mouths. These days, me and my generation of the extended family pretty much reference said relatives should any of the elders make anymore "hustle" remarks. On the bright side though, many of said elders actually started pestering us to take a vacation or explore the world now rather than just work our behinds off. Seems like they finally adopted the 'You can't take it with you when you die, so why not use it to live for the moment' mindset after the tragedies.
Marcellus II 3 years ago
Working structurally on zero sleep in finance seems a recipe for disaster... as in, a misjudgement here that costs a few million, a few problems there while trying to hide that error and you end up in a hole you cannot get out (see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Leeson --- a $1.4BILLION hole!). That said, enough healthy young sporters (mostly amateur) die at a similar age from undiagnosed cardiac issues, so absolutely no reason to suspect drugs or alcohol caused it. Just stress and bad genetic luck will do it.
zovjraar me 3 years ago
people have different levels- different levels of energy, stress tolerance, pain tolerance, social needs- we're all different. one person can work full time, go to school full time, and maintain an active social life. while another can barely manage a part time job and pets. we should learn our limits and respect them, and not feel pressured to do something because someone else can. that's the road to misery, health issues, and like this guy- possibly death. don't trade any part of your health now for a future that may never come!
Dama Yanti 1 year ago
The writer is really a good caring person. She wrote about what kind of life her friend had gone through. In the modern endless hustle world very often we find ourselves to live the same kind of life and think that what might happen can be as bad as that what happened to the victim of extreme exhaustion. Mostly we think it just normal to work to the utmost capacity and even the victims performance are considered awesome. A similar thing happened a long time ago which I cannot forget. It was the news about an actor in my country. I still remember what she said in the last minute of her life. The news told that she said " I am tired I will die ". She closed her eyes and died.
Carol Emory 3 years ago
My father spent 45 years working as a Diesel Mechanic. He worked 16 hour days, 6 days a week. We hardly saw him at all. And when he was home, he was usually in charge of decompressing all the tension in the house that my mother caused. When he retired, his knees were shot, he had diabetes, was overweight and had high blood pressure. He waited to retire until he was 67 because he wanted full pension and a sizable 401k. He tried to say he did it so us kids would have an inheritance. I told him I would have rather had him around. Shortly after retirement, he developed Alzheimer's and never got to go fishing and camping like he planned to do for years. He died in 2019 calling for his mother who died with Alzheimer's 17 years earlier. Don't waste your life working for a perception of what you think your family wants. Talk to each other so you don't miss out on precious time with each other. Find out what your family really wants. Live for your family, not your job.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I don't mind loving my job. My family doesn't get the short end, however, and I spend a lot of time convincing my hubby to take time off. My dad had big plans for his retirement years, never got to 55. My sis died at 26. Live! b/c dying is inevitable, so don't assume it waits until you're ready.
Load More Replies... Terry Rex 1 year ago
Not if you are born wealthy. Then you don't have to work at all. Just spend the money you inherited. Normal people have to work to survive. That is the problem.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
As an MD, what jumped at me was "used cocaine occasionally". News flash: That sh*t turns your heart into a ticking time bomb. Faster than nicotine. So, without knowing the full autopsy report with toxicology? I will not say overwork killed him. Lifestyle, possibly ------ but cocaine doesn't need to be used in the now to be a factor in kill.
Lara Verne 3 years ago
He planned to retire early.... He did not live long enough to retire. Some jobs cause a lot of stress, even if you don't work more than 40 hours a week. He was making a lot of money, but with constant working and no time for anything else, not even sleep, it was recipe for disaster. Not worth it. My condolences.
David Brown 3 years ago
When I hit the work force after highschool I had a screwed up view of what it meant to be a "good" employee. I'd be the first one in and the last one out every day. I'd pick up extra work after I finished my own duties. I'd do all I could to learn how to do other jobs inside the company to make myself more valuable. The amount of work and time I put in made me a miserable zombie. I had plenty of money but no time to enjoy it. I lost all my friends but I always figured I could make more when I got the chance to slow down later in life. I found out too late that it would never happen. It's like putting your finger in a glass of water. While it's there it leaves a mark but as soon as it's removed you would never it had been there at all. It's the exact same way working at any company. You are nothing more than a number and a warm body filling a position. I ruined my own life being greedy. Any one that takes the time to read this I hope you slow down and enjoy life as it was meant to be.
SheamusFanFrom1987 3 years ago
Asian culture and mindset often pretty much pressured me into working hard in school and later on, at work. Took one or two relatives kicking the bucket at relatively young ages for the older generation to finally shut their mouths. These days, me and my generation of the extended family pretty much reference said relatives should any of the elders make anymore "hustle" remarks. On the bright side though, many of said elders actually started pestering us to take a vacation or explore the world now rather than just work our behinds off. Seems like they finally adopted the 'You can't take it with you when you die, so why not use it to live for the moment' mindset after the tragedies.
Marcellus II 3 years ago
Working structurally on zero sleep in finance seems a recipe for disaster... as in, a misjudgement here that costs a few million, a few problems there while trying to hide that error and you end up in a hole you cannot get out (see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Leeson --- a $1.4BILLION hole!). That said, enough healthy young sporters (mostly amateur) die at a similar age from undiagnosed cardiac issues, so absolutely no reason to suspect drugs or alcohol caused it. Just stress and bad genetic luck will do it.
zovjraar me 3 years ago
people have different levels- different levels of energy, stress tolerance, pain tolerance, social needs- we're all different. one person can work full time, go to school full time, and maintain an active social life. while another can barely manage a part time job and pets. we should learn our limits and respect them, and not feel pressured to do something because someone else can. that's the road to misery, health issues, and like this guy- possibly death. don't trade any part of your health now for a future that may never come!
Dama Yanti 1 year ago
The writer is really a good caring person. She wrote about what kind of life her friend had gone through. In the modern endless hustle world very often we find ourselves to live the same kind of life and think that what might happen can be as bad as that what happened to the victim of extreme exhaustion. Mostly we think it just normal to work to the utmost capacity and even the victims performance are considered awesome. A similar thing happened a long time ago which I cannot forget. It was the news about an actor in my country. I still remember what she said in the last minute of her life. The news told that she said " I am tired I will die ". She closed her eyes and died.
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