If We Don't Do Something About Workplace Burnout, "Severance" Will Be the New "Quiet Quitting"

<blockquote>“Work is just work…right?”</blockquote><p>For those uninitiated, here’s the simplest way to describe the nuanced brilliance that is the Emmy-nominated Apple+ Series <em>Severance</em>:</p><p><em>Severance </em>is<em> Office Space </em>meets<em> 2001: A Space Odyssey </em>meets<em>…The Shining.</em></p><p>It’s clearly a risky concept, hence why it probably took creator Dan Erickson and executive producer/director Ben Stiller years to receive a green light, but in hindsight it’s obviously a gamble that is paying off judging by the 14 Emmy nominations for its first season. If Severance continues to consistently be this engaging, riveting, and mind-bending with its original story &amp; crisp writing, its on-point performances - and most importantly its crawl-into-your-brain-and-live-there-while-you-sleep tone - upon the series’ completion <strong><em>Severance</em> will be in the same conversation as <em>Breaking Bad. </em>Yeah, I said it.</strong> (Bookmark it.)</p><p>This, however, is where my <em>Severance</em> review both begins and ends. Because anyone who’s already seen the show knows how mind-blowing it is.</p><p>I’m not here to write about how brilliant <em>Severance</em> is.</p><p>I’m here to write about how terrifying <em>Severance</em> is.</p><p>And I’m not talking about terrifying like jump scares, hallucinations, and bizarro dance sequences set to “defiant jazz.“ I’m talking terrifying like <em>Severance </em>belongs in the documentary category instead of psychological thriller.</p><p>Many have already written about how <em>Severance</em> is one possible version of a dystopian workplace future.</p><p>I’m here to argue that <strong><em>Severance</em> is not only a dystopian portrait of our future…in many ways we’re already there.</strong></p><p>Because if we don&#39;t do something about the rampant epidemic of workplace burnout in our post-pandemic, severance is going to become our new version of &#34;quiet quitting.&#34;</p><p> </p><h2><strong>First Things First…What Is ‘Severance?’</strong><