Bengaluru-based ex-KPMG and Deloitte employee shares how hustle culture left her body ‘giving up’: 'What’s the point of success if I can’t...'

A Bengaluru chartered accountant has ignited conversation around the dangers of hustle culture after sharing her experience of physical and mental collapse following six months of grueling 14-hour workdays. Meenal Goel, who has previously worked with global consulting firms KPMG and Deloitte, recounted how her body “gave up” despite her determination to succeed.

The Toll of Non-Stop Work

In a candid LinkedIn post, Goel described the morning her exhaustion reached a breaking point. “Tuesday, 6 AM. The alarm rang. I couldn’t get out of bed. Not because I was lazy, but because my body literally refused to move,” she wrote.



For half a year, Goel followed an exhausting schedule: waking at 6 AM, working until 11 PM, treating weekends as regular workdays, and keeping her laptop on even during vacations. “I convinced myself: ‘This is what building a business takes,’” she said.

When the Body Says No

The moment of crisis came during a client call when she suddenly felt a sharp wave of anxiety. “Heart racing. Couldn’t breathe. Had to hang up,” she recalled. That incident forced her to pause and reflect: “I’m building a business but destroying myself. What’s the point of success if I can’t even enjoy it?”

Setting Boundaries to Recover

After this wake-up call, Goel introduced strict personal boundaries to prioritise her health. “No work after 8 PM. No ‘quick emails.’ Sundays completely off. Phone on silent. One hobby completely unrelated to work,” she explained.

The results were immediate. “It’s been almost a week. My productivity? Actually increased. My mental health? Finally healing,” she wrote, emphasising that while hustle culture glorifies burnout, “burnout doesn’t build empires. It destroys them.”

She concluded with a powerful reminder: “You can’t pour from an empty cup. Rest isn’t lazy—it’s strategic.”

Social Media Reacts

Goel’s post struck a chord with many professionals, sparking widespread discussion about workplace expectations and personal health.

One user wrote, “Please rest! Burnout will cause serious health issues. Energy management is more important than wealth or business growth.”

Another commented, “We glorify overworking so much that we forget health is everything.”

Several professionals echoed her point, reminding others that “hustle doesn’t mean you can’t relax. Even machines need downtime. We are still human.”

One comment read, “Burnout doesn’t mean you failed. It means you went too long without recovery. Rest isn’t a reward, it’s part of the work.”

Another user added, “A sobering reminder, endurance, not exhaustion, is the true architecture of lasting success.”