Work, Value and Money: Thoughts Inspired by Severance
What Severance can teach us about motivation, validation, and working for more than survival
There’s so much messaging around how valuable we are based on the money we possess.
Net worth.
Dating advice that commodifies love.
Hustle culture that promises a stress-free life awaits after the grind.
All of these ideas that permeate podcasts, music, comedy - significant elements of entertainment and culture.
Because most of us work in order to earn money, seldom do I separate the two in my mind.
Which is one of the many reasons I find Severance to be such a fascinating show. Since its first season, I’ve been captivated by the severed employees of Macro Data Refinement. A sucker for character development I questioned:
Which character am I most like?
Which character can I not stand?
Are there any characters I can’t stand because they remind me of the worst parts of myself that I contorted to feel seen or appreciated at work?
The wit, intuition and dedication of Dylan G (also known as Dylan George) has provided so much reflection. I celebrate his badassery and his award-winning one liners that provide so much joy to the audience. I also find the premise of the show and his character in particular to be the most telling commentary on current work culture.
There’s no beginning for the severed employees; in the sense that there are no foundational memories.
Consciousness solely dedicated to work.
There’s an understanding of how the outies benefit - a salary, housing, healthcare and more - but the innies exist solely in benefit to someone else. The best way they can rationalize and adapt to this existence is through incentives.
Dylan is motivated by quarterly incentives.
Whether it's Lumon merch or a waffle party, it’s a reward. In Managing corporate culture through reward systems, Jeffrey Kerr and John W. Slocum, Jr write,
“We believe that the reward system represents a particularly powerful means for influencing an organization’s culture…. The reward system - who gets rewarded and why - is an unequivocal statement of the corporation’s values and beliefs.”
Since, from my understanding, innies don’t interact with the concept of labor for survival, the “payment” for their hard work is the reward, is the external validation.
Through the lens of the transformative moments Dylan G. finds himself in, are there other aspects to life that can serve as motivation?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with receiving external validation. There may be a need for reflection if one is consistently seeking external validation to define one’s self, but I digress.
The question that came up for me in his story arc was what happens when the only thing that you knew to fuel your ambition is no longer enough?
What happens when our motivation expands?
Our ability to fulfill basic needs is directly tied to our access to money. Creating ways to address this ability and/or the basic needs themselves are important to the overall health of our communities and society at large.
In addition to that, it’s beneficial to reflect how money becomes the vehicle to self identification and acceptance through external validation.
Some reflection questions to ponder yourself:
What are some of my main motivations?
Are these motivations that drive me towards something or away from something?
What are some ways I receive internal and external validation?
I’m still thinking about Dylan G, about rewards and recognition, and about how much of my worth I’ve linked to productivity. But I’m also curious - what else is possible? What happens when we choose to motivate ourselves from a place of enoughness, not lack?
If anything in this piece sparked something in you, I’d love to hear what you’re reflecting on too.
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I’m so glad you’re here.
Ebony Johnson
Money Trauma Coach