Severance

Severance (Pop Culture)

In Severance, Lumon Industries tries to come off as a caring, advanced company that offers their employees a transformative procedure for a work-life balance. Their public image is idealized and of positivity, claiming that they work hard to protect their workers from stress and dangers. However, behind the facade, Lumon is very manipulative, cunning, and in many ways Machiavellian with how they exploit their workers by taking away employees' independence and using their “innies” as tools for productivity and secret research. Lumon hides their dirty and unethical work by giving their employees rewards like finger traps and having cheerful celebrations such as music/dance experiences, showing that there are many real-world companies and workplaces that hide pressure and fraudulent practices behind a good public image.

Watching Severance changed the way I think about hustle culture, because it made me realize how manipulative big companies can be and how hard it becomes for employees to escape their unhealthy workplace. This makes employees forced to work under the rules of these companies, often being subjected to work long hours and be productive at all times. The show made me see how people can get so used to workplace practices that they don’t even question the unethicality of it all. I wouldn’t have thought about how fake and misleading a company’s “we care about our workers” message can be if I hadn’t watched Severance, especially since the show portrays it so well that it makes the real world feel kind of similar.