Does Sales Still Have a Hustle Culture?

Pipedrive’s The State of Sales and Marketing Report 2023/24 contains a major finding: employees who work extra hours are significantly less likely to hit their sales targets. Is this proof that ‘hustle culture’ is no longer a route to success for sales teams?

What is “hustle culture”?

At the heart of hustle culture is a mindset that prioritizes success at work. High performance and financial growth are valued strongly, and the rewards for employees can be great.

Hustle culture often manifests in sales environments for a number of reasons, including:

• The drive to meet monthly or quarterly financial targets

• A fast-paced, competitive atmosphere with tight deadlines

• Promotions and bonuses based predominantly on performance

• Visible markers of how many deals have been closed and how much money each individual team member is contributing

The positives and negatives of hustle culture

“The opportunity for success and financial reward can certainly have a positive impact on wellbeing,” says Lou Campbell, an employee counselor, wellbeing coach and Programmes Director of Wellbeing Partners. “Greater personal security, increased confidence, a stronger sense of purpose, a feeling of belonging and healthy camaraderie are all examples of this.

“However, the long hours, intensity and always-on way of working have a potential downside for employee health. Exhaustion is common in hustle culture, particularly for those who don’t prioritize rest and recovery in non-working hours. Prolonged exhaustion can lead to burnout, which is a risk factor for common mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. Physical health issues can also be triggered, particularly those which are exacerbated by stress-related inflammation.

“Rest, recovery and equilibrium of work-life balance are vital. For those who don’t take time to reduce stress and foster their sense of self and personal identity outside of work – via hobbies, self-care and maintaining personal relationships – a lack of fulfillment can also have a negative impact on well-being.

“Furthermore, a competitive working environment can lead to comparisons and an impact on self-worth for employees who may not be performing as well as their peers.”

Could working fewer hours be better for business?

Published in July 2024, Pipedrive’s The State of Sales and Marketing Report 2023/24 included the results of surveys conducted with salespeople, founders and CEOs worldwide. The study identified a number of important considerations for sales environments grappling with hustle culture, notably:

Working extra hours did not necessarily contribute to hitting sales goals. In fact, the results showed the opposite: just 34% of those who worked additional hours reported reaching their personal sales target, compared to 66% of those who did not.

The percentage of people who reached their personal sales target

Of those who did not work additional hours, 42% reported their work-life balance as being ‘very good’, with the figure at only 11% for those working up to 15 additional hours and 13% for 15 additional hours or more.

Since my workplace started providing flexible work models and/or remote options, my mental well-being has…

The vast majority (77%) of respondents whose workplaces offer remote or flexible work models said these measures have supported their performance. In addition, 28% stated that their mental wellbeing has significantly improved since remote options were introduced.

To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “Remote or flexible work models have positively impacted my performance”?

Only every third respondent claimed not to work additional hours, while 10% of respondents did more than 16 additional hours every week, meaning that for some people, the working week can be up to 60 hours long, or even longer in some countries.

What is ‘techno-stress’ and is it a concern?

The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel Development is a professional membership association that provides training and qualifications for people working in HR. Its Good Work Index 2024 found that a significant proportion of British workers, around a quarter, felt exhausted and/or under excessive pressure at work.

The same number of employees felt that work impacts their mental health negatively. However, 70% of respondents found it easy to take an hour or two away from work to deal with a personal or family issue, a rise from 64% in 2019.

Other CIPD research looked at the issue of techno-stress – i.e., whether working remotely is inherently stressful as it leads to poor work-life balance and pressure to be “always on”. It also measured whether digital (virtual) working, when combined with flexible working, can liberate employees to have a better work-life balance.

Jake Young, Senior Policy and Practice Adviser at the CIPD, comments: “The evidence suggests there’s no clear link between digital working and wellbeing, but digital working does raise risk factors for our mental health where staff feel pressure to work longer hours and struggle to switch off from work.

”The key to dealing with this is giving staff autonomy over how, where and when they work, and helping to create a template for remote working. Where possible, senior leaders and managers should also encourage and role-model behavior like working flexibly and switching off.”

Employers are urged to adapt to flexible working

Commenting on Pipedrive’s latest research, Tanya Channing, Chief People & Culture Officer at Pipedrive, says: ”The key to a good work-life balance lies in flexibility. To remain or become an attractive employer in today’s working world, offering hybrid work possibilities is essential.”

This view is echoed by Alex Dick, CEO of Alexander Lyons Solutions, a recruiter of salespeople worldwide. ”The war on talent is currently being won by companies who are taking into account that humans are more than just workers. Those who haven’t adapted are struggling to hire, and those focused on wellbeing measures and flexible working methods are finding it a lot easier.

”Money always used to be the main motivator, and it still is a big draw – but especially since Covid, people have begun to realize that money doesn’t buy time. You could have all the money all in the world but what’s the point if you can’t spend time with your loved ones? That time is perhaps worth more than an extra five or 10 grand.

”For companies struggling to move away from hustle culture, my advice would be to start to look at efficiency and encourage people to work smart, not hard. Unless you’ve built in efficiencies or supported them, they’re going to look for an environment that better serves their needs. If you don’t do that, you end up with a very disillusioned workforce or employees talking to people like me about finding a new home. You’re essentially driving down a tunnel with a wall at the end of it, saying, ’I’ll enjoy the run until I hit the wall.’”

Gen Z, Gen A and hustle culture?

Published in December 2024, the CIPD’s Changing Face Of The Youth Labour Market report looked at the attitudes of generations entering the UK workforce in 2024. Out of UK employers who had recruited 16 to 24 year-olds in the past year, there was a strong consensus that young workers value flexible working more than previous generations (78% agreed) and that a work-life balance is more important to them compared with previous generations (82% agreed).

Alex Dick says this matches his experience. But, he adds, while younger workers are generally more likely to reject workplaces that champion the ‘daily grind’, they’re susceptible to another kind of hustle culture when it comes to career progression.

”With Gen Z specifically, there’s been a shift to this belief that to progress in your career, you need to move all the time. Five years ago a short period of time on a resumé would be two years. Now I’m seeing three months, then another three months, then another… Employers need to help younger workers understand that by sticking at things, they’ll get better at their niche, through more experience and better relationships with stakeholders.

“Part of the problem is that certain online influencers have told young people that to be successful, they need to be a freelance copywriter, a website developer, a crypto trader and so on, all at the same time. This is hustle culture in the extreme – and it’s simply not true. In reality, more people who do this fail and end up living back with their folks than those who learn a trade or skill that’s advantageous. If you’re in the right company, you can still progress very effectively.”

How Pipedrive can help sales teams

Pipedrive’s The State of Sales and Marketing Report 2023/24 report revealed that 63% of respondents who felt supported by their company reached their sales targets in 2023. In contrast, respondents who did not receive professional support in some form were 13 percentage points less likely to meet their targets.

The research also found that those who use automation tools in their work and have CRM software in place feel happier on average. Asked to rate their work-life balance on a five-point scale, respondents who personally used such tools gave higher scores than those who didn’t (averaging 3.8 versus 3.6).

Pipedrive can play in important role in supporting sales teams. Its customizable products are designed specifically to reduce the burden of manual work for small businesses, meaning Pipedrive customers can have peace of mind that they’re maximizing opportunities for sales success while reducing – or even eliminating – the problems associated with hustle culture.

”Being well-informed about the things that matter and making decisions in the right order enables prioritization of leads, identification of the best times and formats for follow-ups, and management of every deal in your pipeline,” comments Sean Evers, VP of Sales & Partner at Pipedrive. ”As a result, sales professionals have more capacity for building invaluable personal relationships and effectively closing deals. This is an essential facet of a great CRM, and Pipedrive excels at this.

”In today’s business world, sales success is directly tied to the implementation of digital tools. Staying on top of everything, especially productivity and follow-ups, is crucial. Using digital tools not only helps to automate repetitive tasks but also allows for increasingly smart sales processes.”

What you can do now to boost employee wellbeing

While investing in tech and employees’ well-being and personal development is key in the long term, there are changes that companies can implement immediately to demonstrate their commitment to work-life balance. Lou Campbell of Wellbeing Partners suggests industry leaders incorporate 10 golden rules into their behavior at work, and encourage employees to follow their lead:

1. Finish work on time most, if not all, days

2. Factor in time to complete an end-of-work routine each day which includes making a to-do list for the following day

3. Take a screen-free break every lunchtime and go outside into daylight to facilitate serotonin production

4. Do cardio exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes per day – brisk walking is an excellent cardio exercise, as is cycling or running

5. Resist the urge to check work messages within the two hours before bedtime

6. Make time for hobbies, passion projects and time with friends and loved ones outside of work hours

7. Spend a couple of hours each week in nature – countryside, woods, parks, seaside, mountains and environments that inspire a sense of awe

8. When stress is overwhelming, practice mindfulness techniques

9. Regularly reflect on life outside work and what other goals you’d like to achieve, particularly those not related to financial gain

10. Use your annual leave allocation – it’s there for a reason

Final thoughts

Hustle culture is by no means all bad. The key is to develop a working environment that finds the right balance between short-term performance and long-term success. While this is likely to manifest differently according to each sales team’s unique needs and pressures, the benefits of flexible working, monitoring employees’ health and providing support where necessary can’t be underestimated.

Talk to Pipedrive today about how its award-winning sales CRM can reduce the burden on your sales team while driving business growth.