Grind culture has enjoyed a few years in the spotlight now. The idea is that if you work as hard as possible, you can enjoy massive amounts of success. You’re supposed to derive your sense of satisfaction, purpose, and worth from your work and let your drive be your desire to accomplish more. While the idea of getting more done may sound good for business, a grind culture is likely to do more harm than good.
It Can Create a Toxic Work Environment
Toxic work environments can kill a business. At a minimum, they’re likely to increase your employee turnover. Grind culture promotes unhealthy levels of competition between employees and encourages them to work outside of working hours. That may sound good if your goal is to get as much from your employees as you can, but in addition to being toxic, that could also be illegal. Employees generally cannot work for free, and handling work-related tasks when not on the clock could land your business in trouble.
It Can Damage Employee Health
Your employees can’t do their jobs the way you need them to if they aren’t healthy, and grind culture will eventually wear down even the healthiest of employees. Staring at a screen too long can lead to poor eyesight. Spending too much time at work takes time away from being physically active, eating well, and getting adequate sleep. Those are all crucial to physical health. Then there’s mental health to look at. Grind culture leads to higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which are guaranteed to negatively impact work performance. If your employees can’t perform, your business won’t stay successful for long.
It Leads to Burnout
Burnout isn’t just a possible outcome of participating in a grind culture–it’s an inevitability for those who don’t disengage from it. Burnout kills morale and motivation. It can be caused by multiple factors, and working too long and too hard without a break is one of them. Take steps to avoid employee burnout so you can protect your business and your employees.
A shift is beginning to take place in the workforce. More people are realizing that a grind culture isn’t a healthy thing for workers or a business, especially long-term. Instead, strive to develop a supportive work culture that recognizes that everyone has more going on in their life than just their jobs, and those things deserve time, energy, and attention as well. The shift from a grind culture to a healthier, more supportive culture will help improve morale, productivity, and retention, things that truly are good for business.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like: How to Help a Struggling Employee Get Back on Track
Comments