Work-Life Balance: A Myth? Let’s Talk About Severance…
Nick Elston
Keynote, Conference & Event Speaker ?? | Award-Winning Mental Health Engagement - Speaker, Content Creator & Thought Leader ?? | Transformational Speaking Coach ?? | Founder Forging People ?? | Wearer of Caps ??
Imagine if you could completely separate your work life from your personal life.
No stress from deadlines creeping into your evenings.
No personal worries distracting you from your 9-to-5.
Sounds good, right?But then there’s Severance, the superb Apple TV series that takes this idea to an extreme—where employees literally become two different people, one for work and one for home.
No overlap.
No connection.
No balance.
… and that’s where the problems begin.
In reality, I believe work-life balance is often a myth. The idea that we can compartmentalise every part of ourselves is unrealistic. We carry stress from home into work, and work into home. Our identity, our passions, our challenges—they don’t switch off at 5pm.
Instead, what we need is work-life alignment—where our professional and personal worlds can exist together in a way that fuels, rather than drains, us.
It’s something I see all the time in my work—whether speaking on mental health, resilience, or transformational speaking coaching. People aren’t looking for a perfect split between their “innie” and “outie” (to borrow Severance terms).
They’re looking for a way to make it all fit together in a way that feels right.
Maybe it’s not about balance being a myth, maybe it’s just about balance—whatever that looks like in your world.
Cheers
Nick ??
PS: If you’re a Severance fan, check out Lumon Industries Industries on LinkedIn — such a cool extension to this epic TV show. Very clever marketing to have it on this ‘professional’ platform!
I help leaders create inclusive workplaces where people can do their best work. Learning should be purposeful, and people-focused. I design meaningful experiences and provide coaching that drives real growth and impact.
1 周I’m a Severance fan too, and I’ve just followed the Lumon Industries LinkedIn page—such a clever marketing move! Thanks for the tip! Imagine feeling tired or refreshed but having no idea why—that disconnect from your own experience is unsettling. And then there’s the artificial, sterile environment with no sense of time or the outside world. It really makes you think about how easily we can fall into our own “loops” in daily life. It’s a great reminder to intentionally break the cycle—get outside, add variety to the day, and make sure we’re not just moving between different versions of the same confined space. Work-life alignment, as you put it, isn’t just about balance but about making sure we’re living in a way that energises rather than drains us. Great post, Nick! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go make sure my “innie” hasn’t been secretly working overtime… ??
Making YOU become AWESOME ?? A Wellness champion helping you be awesome each and every day. From the heart speaker who inspires others to success. Team GB WNBF World Natural bodybuilding finalist ??????
3 周Very thought provoking Nick, and for years I was unable to separate between home and work. I was certainly two different people and over time it became very difficult to switch between them, the lines were blurred and there was certainly no balance and this I carried for years without realising it. It wasn’t until my military and police careers came to an end did I feel the load lift.
?? Motivational, Experienced, Award Winning Transformational Event & Conference Speaker | Author | TEDx Volunteer | Media Contributor Helping audiences to avoid Burnout by turning Chaos into Calm
3 周Great thought provoking article Nick. I always use life/work balance as I believe life should always come before work - result of my experience. I’m very lucky in that I absolutely separate the two. I work when I’m in work and when I’m home that is where my focus is ?? Guess it helps to be married to someone who can’t bring their work home, as an agricultural contractor he leaves it behind at home time, a garden full of cattle would indeed upset the neighbors ?? I know I’m blessed to be able to do this and I have to say my burnout experience taught me a huge lesson ??