海角大神

Mark Scout sold himself out to a big corporation. Half of himself, to be precise. He underwent surgery that partitions his memories, effectively creating a split personality.

As soon as Mark enters the windowless office, he cannot remember his life outside of work. He shares a four-quadrant cubicle with colleagues who organize numbers on a computer. As for perks? There鈥檚 a vending machine with healthy snacks such as raisins, seeds, and nuts.

Once Mark exits Lumon Industries, he has zero recollection of his corporate self, his colleagues, or even what type of job he does. This 鈥渙utie鈥� version of Mark lives in a state of stress-free permanent vacation. By contrast, his 鈥渋nnie鈥� experiences only drudgery. Call it a radical experiment in work-life balance. Or, more accurately, imbalance.

Mark is the protagonist of the surrealist workplace TV series 鈥淪everance.鈥� Think 鈥淥ffice Space鈥� meets 鈥淭win Peaks.鈥� Now in its second season, it鈥檚 the buzziest show on Apple TV+. Perhaps the reason it resonates is that we鈥檝e all felt like an 鈥渋nnie鈥� at some point in our careers. Viewers root for Mark (Adam Scott) and his colleagues as they rebel against the sinister Lumon corporation that has effectively enslaved them. In its satirical moments, 鈥淪everance鈥� raises questions about what makes work 鈥� and, indeed, life 鈥� meaningful.

鈥淸鈥楽everance鈥橾 is a great lesson for us that it isn鈥檛 about a work-life balance,鈥� says Jim Salvucci, a business leadership consultant. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not yin and yang. It鈥檚 just life. And what we need to do is find a purpose in our life and find a purpose in our work.鈥�

Bore out vs. burnout

Series creator Dan Erickson got the idea for 鈥淪everance鈥� while working for a door factory. Stuck inside a fluorescent-lit office next to the production floor, he was cataloging parts such as door hinges. Mr. Erickson yearned to just jump ahead to the end of the day.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 kind of a weird kind of messed up thing to wish for,鈥� because ideally, we should all want to experience the totality of our lives,鈥� Mr. Erickson told an interviewer at SciFiNow.

In the pilot, the suit-and-tie worker bees at Lumon are reasonably content. Then Helly Riggs (Britt Lower) shows up. The new Macrodata Refinement Department employee is tasked with moving numbers on her screen into folders. It crushes her spirit.

鈥淲e鈥檙e bored when nobody鈥檚 investing in us, when no one鈥檚 noticing us and giving opportunity to learn,鈥� says Tamara Myles, co-author of a forthcoming book, 鈥淢eaningful Work.鈥�

Members of Generation Z who are entering the workforce right now are experiencing what鈥檚 called 鈥渂ore out鈥� instead of burnout, says Ms. Myles. The term describes the experience of not feeling challenged and of wasting your potential. It leads to the same outcomes as burnout.

In 鈥淪everance,鈥� Helly foments a rebellion by encouraging her colleagues to question the work. She asks what the numbers on her computer signify. No one knows.

鈥淭he work is mysterious and important,鈥� Mark says defensively.

Except he has no idea what sort of product Lumon Industries creates. He鈥檚 also at a loss to explain why there鈥檚 an office further down the corridor filled with bleating goats 鈥� one of the many weird aspects of Lumon.

The 鈥淪everance鈥� scenario is slightly reminiscent of a real-world situation recounted in Ms. Myles鈥� 鈥淢eaningful Work.鈥� Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a woman named Keisha was considering quitting her job at a data center in Toronto. She was spending 12-hour shifts maintaining row upon row of blinking servers inside a cold, sterile warehouse. A bit like Lumon, but without the petting-zoo animals.

鈥淸Keisha] had no idea what was happening on those servers,鈥� says Wes Adams, the book鈥檚 co-author. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 tell people what they鈥檙e about.鈥�

Following a workshop conducted by Mr. Adams and Ms. Myles, it dawned on Keisha that those servers were making remote schooling possible during the pandemic. She realized that her work was enabling people to connect during a time of crisis. Keisha scribbled that down on a Post-it note and stuck it on her computer monitor.

The authors say that the beating heart of meaningful work is understanding that your job improves the lives of others. 鈥淚t means that we鈥檙e inherently good and that we care about the welfare of others,鈥� says Mr. Adams. 鈥淲e鈥檙e social animals. That鈥檚 why community is so important to us. That鈥檚 why contribution is so important to us.鈥�

At Lumon, the 鈥渋nnies鈥� are so desperate to attach meaning to their work that one employee muses that it鈥檚 in service of cleaning the oceans. Organizational behavior experts recommend that businesses clearly define their missions. That goes beyond just having a slogan written on a wall in the office. Invite employees to articulate what it means to them.

鈥淚f there is no autonomy, then there is no opportunity to explore how you can create meaning,鈥� says Evgenia Lysova, associate professor in organizational behavior at the Department of Management and Organization of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

In 鈥淪everance,鈥� however, the 鈥渋nnies鈥� are infantilized. Overbearing supervisor Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) constantly monitors productivity. Sometimes he hands out balloons or brings in a tub of water so employees can go bobbing for pineapples. (You won鈥檛 find those tips in a Peter F. Drucker business book.) Floor manager Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) makes 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada鈥� boss Miranda Priestly seem warm and fuzzy. Upon promoting Mark to chief of his section, she cites a company policy: 鈥淎 handshake is available upon request.鈥� Ms. Cobel looks mildly mortified when Mark takes her up on the offer.

鈥淲hen [Mark] gets the role of the leader, he actually cares for and respects the fellow colleagues,鈥� says Ms. Lysova. 鈥淭hey are searching for meaning, and he actually helps them feel that they belong.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e people, not parts of people鈥�

Great company leaders make employees feel as if they鈥檙e part of a community, says Ms. Myles, the author. They take a genuine interest in who people are as individuals. Knowing their spouse鈥檚 name, for instance, or whether they have children. Asking what book they鈥檙e reading now or what they did last weekend. If people feel seen, they bring their best selves to work.

鈥淢ark says something like, 鈥榃e鈥檙e people, not parts of people,鈥欌�� says Mr. Salvucci, who teaches leadership skills. 鈥淏ut when we, in our mind, sever our work from the rest of our life, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e functionally doing.鈥�

Mr. Salvucci points to Viktor Frankl鈥檚 鈥淢an鈥檚 Search for Meaning鈥� as a book that encourages readers to find purpose in life and figure out what sustains them.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e fulfilling something, and you know you鈥檙e doing well by your own values and by the world 鈥� whether you鈥檙e at work or home 鈥� you know that that鈥檚 ideal, that鈥檚 the balance you want,鈥� says Mr. Salvucci. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not a balance. That鈥檚 whole. That鈥檚 the whole thing.鈥�