The Apple TV series Severance presents an extreme version of the modern workplace. The show depicts a company that employs a procedure called “severance,” which completely separates employees’ work and personal lives.

A Radical Approach to Work-Life Balance

At ‘Lumen’, a massive corporation, only employees who have undergone the severance procedure are allowed to work in a special “Severed Floor”. When they arrive at work, they lose all memory of their personal lives and become their “Innie” selves, solely focused on their job. After leaving work, they regain their personal memories and return to being their “Outie” selves, with no recollection of their workday. Mark (played by Adam Scott) is a team leader in the Severed Floor after undergoing the severance procedure. He leads a seemingly normal life without any memories of his work, until one day he encounters a mysterious coworker outside of the office. This encounter leads Mark to question the severance procedure and the hidden truths behind Lumen’s system. As he digs deeper, he uncovers the dark secrets of this experimental program.

Within this context, the show raises an ironic question about the modern ideal of “work-life balance”. Is it truly ideal to completely forget work once you leave the office and avoid the stresses of your job? Or does completely separating your work self from your personal self reduce you to just a cog in a machine?

The Philosophical meaning of ‘Work’ and Purpose

Philosopher Hannah Arendt divides human activity into three categories: Labor, which is the repetitive work done simply for survival; Work, which involves creative and meaningful activities; and Action, which refers to freely exchanging ideas and engaging in political life.

In Severance, the “Outie” character treats their job as “Labor”, reducing it to just a task performed for pay. The severance procedure leads to the complete separation of the “Innie”, who is left to perform only repetitive labor, often with little room for creativity or personal agency. The work is purely mechanical, with the employee’s happiness and personal growth irrelevant to the task at hand.

Is this a “win-win” situation for the employees, as they can escape the stresses of their work lives while their “Innie” selves focus solely on labor? Or does this division leave the “Innie” lives devoid of meaning? The question of whether the “Outie” lives, free from work-related stress, lead to happiness is debatable. However, one thing is clear: the ultimate goal of the severance procedure is supposed to be happiness.

Is happiness really achievable?

Victor Frankl, a philosopher, argued that people find true happiness when they find meaning in their work, no matter how small. The meaning Frankl refers to isn’t grand or lofty; it’s about finding value and satisfaction in what we do. Real happiness comes not from avoiding pain, but from living a free and meaningful life.

Work can often be monotonous and repetitive, but within it, there are hidden joys we may overlook: conversations with colleagues, the pride in finishing a task, the accomplishments from our efforts, and the time spent with loved ones after work. By engaging in work, even if we sometimes wish to separate ourselves from it, we gain more than just money—we reap the rewards of our struggles.

Reconsidering Work-Life Balance

In the end, Severance forces us to confront the core of our relationship with work. The radical division of work and personal life presented in the series raises uncomfortable questions about the nature of fulfillment and the price of a stress-free existence. While the severance procedure offers a tempting escape from the burdens of the workplace, it strips away the very essence of meaningful engagement with our work and personal growth. Ultimately, Severance challenges us to reconsider what it means to live a truly balanced life—one where the work we do holds value beyond the mere fulfillment of duty and where the self we present at work remains connected to the self we are outside of it.

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