Do you dread going to work? Our thoughts on ‘Severance’ and workplace dread

This week we’re talking television. Apple TV's hit sci-fi show Severance (no spoilers we promise).

The premise – that you could have a separate 'self' for your work life – is fascinating, and the show's popularity is coinciding with a well-documented rise in workplace dread. Some stats:

• In 2023, Headspace found that 87% of workers feel dread once a month and 49% feel it once a week
• Research from 2024 found the average American experiences the "Sunday Scaries" 36 times a year

We all have good days and bad days at work.

But with an increasing number of people regularly dreading going to work, it feels like there’s something bigger at play. 🤔

And for some, the Severance procedure seems to be concerningly appealing.

Why do so many people dread going to work? 💼

There are many reasons why someone might dread going to work, and chief among them are stress and burnout. Headspace's data found unpredictability, overwhelm, and high expectations to be the top drivers of dread. 

But the whole idea of a 'severed' work self taps into something that people from all walks of life, and work, already experience. As Tim Sarrantonio explains in his brilliant article about Severance:

"The show's genius lies not in its sci-fi premise but in how it mirrors our current reality. Many of us already practice a form of psychological severance - one that doesn't require surgical intervention but exacts its own hidden costs. We call it "masking," and it's become so normalized that we barely notice its presence in our professional lives."

Navigating multiple identities 🎭

To 'mask' is to suppress fundamental aspects of your identity to make yourself more compatible with the professional and public spaces you occupy. It affects some more than others – e.g. neurotypical people tend to find it easier to be themselves at work, whilst neurodivergent people report spending a lot of time masking.

Suppressing your true identity at work is exhausting. And if you can't be yourself at work, then of course the idea of sending a severed self to the office appeals.

The rise of 'bulls**t jobs' 💩

Another barrier to being yourself at work is the fact that so many jobs require us to be, to varying degrees, performative.

In his 'Bulls**t jobs' theory, David Graeber asks:

'Could there be anything more demoralizing than having to wake up in the morning five out of seven days of one’s adult life to perform a task that one believes does not need to be performed, is simply a waste of time or resources, or even makes the world worse?' 

He highlights that there has to be some degree of pretense or fraud involved for a job to be considered BS. Another barrier to being yourself at work, and another cause of dread that could make severance a seductive option.

Ending the dread 🌅

So what's the solution here? How do we end the dread?

Even if you have a BS job, there's one powerful thing that can give you a reason to look forward to going to work. It's also a cause for removing your mask and truly being yourself when you get there.

And that powerful thing is connection.

Connection comes in many forms. Connection to your work, connection to your colleagues, connection to your environment, or your customers. Whatever form it takes, it's something that undoubtedly makes work worth doing.

When we feel connected, we feel able to be ourselves – and we're less likely to dread going to work.

Strong workplace connections have been shown to have a hugely positive impact on employee well-being and performance. Long-term Gallup research shows a strong relationship between having best friends at work and employee satisfaction and retention (though only 20% of US workers say they have a work bestie). 💔

It's not a silver bullet by any means. The causes of dread run large and deep (too deep for #CuttheBS we fear), but we humans need to feel connected.

And fostering more of it will help us end the dread.

Connection over Severance 🔗

Work should not sever us, it should connect us.

This is the message of Severance, too: The connections that the severed characters have with each other are the best part of their dystopia (and arguably the show itself). It’s why they keep going. 

We must build workplaces where people feel connected. Where there is a sense of belonging and community, and mutual respect. 🤝

And if you’re reading this and you do dread going to work, try and find ways to feel connected.

Severance is not the answer.

Join our Dream Job Equation webinar! 🎥

On a related note: Hiring people who have the right skills and are culturally aligned with your business – plus understanding what motivates them – is a sure-fire way to build connected, high-performing teams.

In our upcoming Dream Job Equation webinar, we’ll show you how to go beyond experience and qualifications to match candidates with roles where they’ll thrive.

You’ll learn how to uncover what really motivates people, assess cultural alignment, and predict long-term success.

We’d love to see you there!

Sign up here to save your spot. 🎫