RashidQadri
A Personal Perspective on the World
As a business owner, I’ve encountered moments where personal issues in the lives of my team members have deeply affected their productivity. It’s a struggle I’m sure many leaders can relate to—the balancing act between supporting employees through their personal challenges while maintaining high levels of professional performance. But what happens when those personal struggles become so consuming that they affect not just the individual, but the entire team and business?
I recently experienced this when a couple of my team members were going through some personal issues—not major life crises, but enough to cause noticeable shifts in their behavior. We did everything we could to support them, offering to handle things after hours or on the weekends, so they could have space to focus on their personal matters. However, we quickly saw a drop in their work performance. The personal issues they were dealing with seemed to have overtaken their ability to concentrate on the tasks at hand. They were essentially stuck in their personal “loop,” unable or unwilling to compartmentalize their lives. They didn’t even try to separate their thoughts. And while we were there to help, it became clear: personal issues don’t simply go away when you’re at the office, especially if you don’t make a conscious effort to focus on work.
This experience reminded me of a much broader issue that’s explored in Apple TV+’s Severance, a show I recently finished watching and am now catching up on in season 2. The show is a chilling, fictional take on a world where employees undergo a procedure that separates their work-life from their personal lives. While the concept might seem extreme (and at times, dystopian), it taps into a very real struggle that many of us face in today’s corporate world: how do we separate the personal from the professional, especially when one inevitably impacts the other?
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Apple, the company behind Severance, is one of the biggest players in the corporate world—especially when it comes to technology. Known for its culture of innovation, cutting-edge products, and high expectations, Apple is not exactly a stranger to the pressures of modern work life. So, why would Apple back a show that critiques corporate life, particularly in a way that questions the very corporate culture it embodies?
In my mind, Apple’s decision to support Severance feels like more than just a creative investment. It seems to be an intentional move—a way of acknowledging and engaging with the conversations around the impact of corporate culture on employee well-being. The show takes the notion of work-life separation to its extreme, showing what could happen if personal and professional lives were completely disconnected. It’s a fictional narrative, yes, but one that still feels relevant.
The reality, as many of us know, is that life doesn’t always fit neatly into compartments. Personal issues, whether big or small, can seep into our professional lives and vice versa. I saw this firsthand with my team members. No matter how much we tried to offer support, their personal struggles affected their focus, creativity, and ability to perform at work. And as much as we as leaders tried to help them, the constant emotional pull of unresolved personal matters made it nearly impossible for them to focus on what was needed professionally.
There are only a handful of people who can genuinely separate their personal and professional lives with ease, and even fewer who can do it consistently. The rest of us—my team members included—get stuck in our “personal loops,” allowing our problems to take over our thoughts and, inevitably, our work. It’s a human experience that affects almost everyone, no matter their role or how much they want to succeed at work.
This is exactly why Severance resonates on such a deep level. While the show exaggerates the effects of separating work and personal life, it does so to highlight the disconnection that many of us feel in a corporate setting. In the real world, we don’t have extreme procedures that erase our personal memories, but we do have the constant pressure of “performing” at work while navigating our personal lives.
So why would Apple, a company that represents the epitome of modern corporate culture, invest in a show like Severance? It could be that they recognize a growing need for change in the workplace. Companies like Apple are constantly at the forefront of technology, but there’s a shift happening in how we think about work. More and more employees are pushing for better work-life balance, more mental health support, and more freedom to separate their work from their personal lives.
By backing a show like Severance, Apple could be inviting both the public and its own employees to start a larger conversation. It’s almost as if they’re asking, “What kind of workplace do we want to create for the future?” They are bringing a bold narrative to the table, one that raises questions about the costs of corporate culture on mental health and well-being.
It’s a bold move, but one that demonstrates Apple is aware of the tension between productivity and employee well-being. As more companies are being scrutinized for their work environments, this could be Apple’s way of reflecting on its own corporate practices—especially as remote work, flexible hours, and mental health issues become more prominent in the workplace.
Apple’s involvement in Severance feels like an invitation for all of us—leaders, employees, and businesses—to reflect on the future of work. It’s about more than just shying away from the negative aspects of corporate life. It’s about acknowledging the very real human experience that we all share. By supporting this show, Apple is not only backing a creative project; they’re starting a conversation about how work and life intersect, and how we might need to rethink our relationship with both.
As I continue to watch Severance and think back on my own experiences as a business owner, I can’t help but feel that we’re at a crossroads. The corporate world is changing, and perhaps Severance is just one piece of a larger conversation that’s already taking place, both inside and outside the workplace.
This is not the end of my blog—it will continue. I’m eager to explore and learn more about how corporate giants outside of North America are navigating their own cultural challenges. This is a world we should keep investigating, learning from, and improving as we move forward. Stay tuned for more insights in the future.