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Imagine walking into your workplace, taking the lift down, going through an eight-hour shift, taking the lift back up, then having no recollection of that working day.
Every task, conversation, and challenge erased the moment you clock out. In return, you receive a generous salary and a work-life balance that is, quite literally, absolute.
It sounds like science fiction, because (as many of you will recognize) it is. It’s the premise of Apple TV’s hit high-concept show, Severance, which is the latest streaming phenom to become a candidate in the debate about the greatest TV show of all time.
But according to a new survey a surprising number of workers say they wouldn’t mind giving it a shot it if they had the chance.
New research from People Managing People, following the season two finale of Severance, reveals that nearly a quarter (21%) of workers would “definitely” or “probably” undergo the memory-splitting procedure depicted in the show.
Even more alarming, 70% would take the deal if the compensation reached $100,000 per year. Among Gen Z, the willingness jumps even higher, with 87% saying they would accept it for the right price.
A fun concept to consider, maybe, but it reveals the somewhat depressing reality that many workers feel so disconnected from their everyday jobs that they would be willing to erase the experience entirely.
The appeal of forgetting work
The willingness of workers to accept memory division raises deeper questions about how people perceive modern work. There’s no doubt that many employees crave stronger boundaries between their professional and personal lives. The rise of remote work has only blurred those lines, making it harder than ever to ‘switch off’ outside of office hours.
In theory, ‘Severance’ offers the ultimate escape. Workplace stress, conflicts, and overwhelming deadlines would be handled by a version of yourself you never have to interact with. No Sunday dread, no late-night emails, no emotional baggage from the office spilling into personal life. The only thing you’d know is that every two weeks, your paycheck arrives.
For employers, it may seem like an efficiency goldmine. Employees wholly dedicated to their work, free from outside distractions. Productivity would likely skyrocket without the mental weight of their personal lives seeping into office hours.
The ethical and psychological trade-off
But the downsides of such a system are hard to ignore. The Severance concept essentially creates two distinct identities: the ‘innie,’ who exists only at work, and the ‘outie,’ who lives in the outside world.
While the outie enjoys the perks of employment without the grind, the innie exists in a permanent state of labor, unable to ever leave the confines of the workplace. That’s an unsettling notion - an entire existence shaped by nothing but the tasks assigned to you.
In a real-world scenario, what would this mean for worker rights? If an employee has no recollection of their workplace experience, how could they advocate for better conditions, raise concerns about misconduct, or even negotiate a raise?
Would an organization have total control over an individual for the hours they are inside the workplace, knowing that once they leave, their ability to challenge decisions would be erased?
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Moreover, the research highlights an alarming indifference towards work itself. If such a high percentage of people are willing to dissociate from their jobs entirely, it suggests a fundamental problem with engagement and retention. Work is no longer seen as a place for growth, collaboration, or purpose, it has become something to endure, with the paycheck as the sole motivation.
A metaphor for the future of work
Of course, the Severance procedure remains fictional (at the moment), but its premise resonates deeply with modern employment trends. The increasing focus on burnout, mental health, and work-life balance suggests that traditional structures of labor are failing many employees.
Rather than erasing work from memory, HR leaders should focus on creating jobs that people don’t want to forget by fostering healthier workplace cultures, improving flexibility, and ensuring employees feel valued beyond just their salaries. The fact that so many people would be willing to undergo the Severance procedure should be a wake-up call, not an aspiration.
In the end, the question isn’t whether we would choose to be severed. It’s why on earth so many of us would want to be.
