The Reality of Toxic Work Culture
Working with a marketing agency recently, I saw a culture I already knew all too well: one that glorifies hustle while quietly eroding the quality of the work, and the well-being of the people doing it.
It isn’t subtle. Every day, the agency pushes for volume over value, speed over substance. The goal isn’t to do great work, it is to do more work. The result is sloppy execution, endless deadlines, and employees buried under impossible client loads.
Here, pressure distorts everything: revisions become a nuisance, collaboration turns combative, and employees stop aiming for excellence. They just try to survive the day with minimal losses.
When you’re in survival mode, lack of curiosity or growth is inevitable. You just want to be done with whatever task is next. No one wants or can slow down to learn. And for younger professionals just starting out, this chaos sets a damaging foundation.
In places like this, burnout isn’t an accident. It’s part of the business model.
More work means better work? Think again.
Hustle might get you somewhere fast, but it won’t get you far. As the Russian proverb goes: “The slower you go, the longer you go.”
The Human Cost
On paper, overloading employees looks efficient: stretch capacity, cut prices, keep the machine running. But at what cost?
This reel-maker I met in this marketing agency is juggling twelve clients at once. Twelve. That’s not a workload, that’s a collapse in slow motion. 3 out of 6 times I met her, she had the flu and was operating on what looked like 30% her optimal capacity.
(Well, if you’re a machine, it’s only fair to talk about your well-being in percentages, right?)
Writing this, I realize how badly I feel for her. I’ve been there too. During 2020, I started as a copywriter at a content mill. I do realize the pressure made me a better writer due to the sheer volume. Still, it’s also fair to mention that I had to churn 6000 words per day to survive till next payday.
Inside these systems, it’s acceptable to cut corners, dismiss client feedback, or even gaslight customers that ask for quality. As long as the numbers look good, the human cost doesn’t matter.
But what happens underneath is erosion that stretches and spreads like a wildfire.
The work quality falls gradually. So does morale, loyalty, and eventually trust. Some employees leave, while others stay in “survival mode,” disengaged and uninspired.
Squeezed-dry employees don’t innovate. They lose empathy for the client. They protect themselves. And when that becomes normal, culture deteriorates.
Now, look at your crew. How long does it take for a new employee to lose the shine in their eyes? That’s how you measure the level of toxicity in your company.
Good employees are hard to find. Once you do, give them the room to grow. They need time to think, learn, and improve. That’s how great work happens.
Hustle culture doesn’t scale. Burnout isn’t sustainable. And no business thrives on broken people.
What a Calm Workplace Looks Like
In a world that glorifies grind, calm feels radical. But calm doesn’t mean people aren’t working hard. It means they’re working well.
I’ve been experimenting with freelance work for years now and I’ve struggled with balancing workload. In time and through self-reflection, I managed to build myself a calm life working from home, doing what I love.
Recently, I read “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work”, and it made me think. As we’re building our small business, we can transfer the calm we cultivated in our day to day into our team as well.
Teams mirror their leaders. If leadership is frantic and reactive, the team reflects that. If leadership is calm, balanced, and clear, the team reflects that too.
Good leaders know:
* Rest fuels clarity
* Safety and respect fuel trust
* Long-term success depends on rhythm, not speed
A calm workplace values quality over quantity. It gives people time to think, not just react. Deadlines exist, but don’t dominate. Feedback is welcomed, not feared. Doing your best is enough, and doing the most isn’t expected.
You don’t have to be soft as a leader. You just have to be smart. Push when it matters, pause when it matters, and show your people what good work looks like — not just in output, but in process and pace.
Reframing the Company
Another genius idea from “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy…” is to treat your company like a product.
Products evolve. You build them, test them, refine them. Why shouldn’t a company (or its culture) be the same?
When you think this way, you begin to iterate on culture, not just performance. You design for sustainability, not just speed.
Because when a company is built entirely on hustle, burnout becomes an identity crisis. And when people break, they don’t just lose energy. They lose purpose.
But when you design a business with intention, when you treat it like a product that should improve over time, you create a place where people can grow and bloom.
Choose Good Work
Good work is human.
It’s not perfect: it’s intentional.
It’s not rushed: it’s consistent.
It’s not about doing everything: it’s about doing the right things, well.
Good work is a choice you make every day.
