In Part I, we explored how “Severance” offers fascinating insights into our evolving relationship with work. As Apple TV+’s science fiction drama returns for its second season, it raises an essential question: Are we creating our future workplace with intention, or letting technology define it for us?
While Lumon’s fictional severance procedure surgically divides work and personal identities, our real-world technologies are blurring these boundaries at unprecedented speed. Let’s explore three critical dimensions of workplace transformation through this lens: the integration of identity and technology, the reinvention of leadership, and the irreplaceable value of human connection.
Integration vs. Separation: The AI Opportunity
What if technology could enhance our professional identity rather than fragmenting it?
“Severance” depicts the consequences of artificial division – employees with surgically separated work and personal identities. But today’s AI revolution presents us with a fundamentally different possibility: technologies that integrate our capabilities in ways that make us more whole, not less.
Organizations are actively experimenting with different approaches. JLL’s recent Future of Work Survey reveals this diversity: 44% function as “office advocates” prioritizing in-person collaboration, while 56% embrace flexible hybrid models. Behind these statistics lies a deeper truth: successful organizations design intentionally for both human connection and technological enhancement.
Here’s the AI Opportunity: With advanced AI and deep research tools, we now have the power of 1,000 PhDs in our pockets. How should we redesign for a world where expertise is democratized? The answer begins with changing your default setting from “control” to “inspire.”
When Boundaries Transform: The Rise of Workplace “Phasing”
Season 2’s most intriguing development is “phasing” – moments when the barrier between work and personal selves temporarily dissolves. Your employees are experiencing this today, phase-shifting between work modes and identities throughout the day, powered by consumer-grade GenAI tools.
Did you know that 94% of CEOs acknowledge their employees are exploring unauthorized GenAI tools? This shadow AI phenomenon signals a profound shift in power dynamics. When 42% of C-Suite Executives acknowledge AI adoption is “tearing apart” companies they’re recognizing that traditional workplace control mechanisms are crumbling.
The greatest barrier to successful AI implementation isn’t technological sophistication but human integration.
Organizations that fail to involve their people in AI development, provide adequate upskilling, and implement thoughtful change management find themselves with powerful tools that nobody uses or worse still ones that employees actively sabotage.
What separates AI success stories from failures? The recognition that we’ve entered a fundamentally different workplace paradigm – one where multiple work modes are the norm and human talent (not just tech) determines competitive advantage.
Leadership Reimagined: “Why Are You a Child?”
This startling question from Season 2 – asked when a younger-than-expected executive appears – perfectly captures today’s leadership transformation. In a world where expertise can come from any generation, how are leadership dynamics evolving?
Consider this paradox: While 41% of Gen Z employees express concerns about their company’s AI strategy, 59% of executives are “actively looking for a new job with a company that’s more innovative with GenAI.” Hidden in these statistics is passionate engagement across generations. Digital natives want greater ownership of AI initiatives, while seasoned leaders seek environments where they can participate in innovation.
Perhaps most telling is that 89% of CEOs recognize AI’s potential to enhance their strategic planning—embracing tools that strengthen human judgment rather than replace it.
Human Connection in the Age of AI: “I’m Your Favorite Perk”
“I’m your favorite perk,” one character tells another in Season 2, highlighting how human connection remains essential even in Lumon’s sterile environment. Industry leaders are beginning to articulate this distinction.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts AI will handle 90% of routine coding soon, while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella distinguishes between “knowledge work” (tasks that can be automated) and “knowledge workers” (humans whose value transcends their technical output).
In a world with ubiquitous intelligent machines, it is human connection that is emerging as the biggest gap.
JLL’s Consumer Experience research reveals 65% of respondents value high-quality personalized experiences (rising to 80% among millennials). Even with expanding digital capabilities, 67% of people still value in-person experiences. We must approach in-person work not as a catalyst for execution, but as an accelerant to deeper connection.
Beyond Severance: Integration as the Path Forward
While “Severance” explores the consequences of artificial division, today’s workplace transformation offers us the opportunity to choose integration. Organizations experiencing the most success with AI adoption treat it as a “people-first initiative.” For example, our AI platform JLL Falcon and JLL GPT™ augments and amplifies our people’s expertise rather than replacing them.
As we navigate this transformation, three principles can guide our approach:
- Experience-First Design: Create environments where technology enhances human connection
- Human-Centered Technology: Ensure AI augments human capability while respecting agency
- Prioritizing Human Connection: Recognize that connection strengthens our humanity
Make no mistake, we stand at a historic inflection point—perhaps the most significant workplace transformation since the industrial revolution.
Leaders who recognize this moment for what it is—a fundamental reimagining of work itself—will create organizations where both people and technology thrive. Those who treat AI as merely another productivity tool will miss the deeper opportunity.
Remember: this isn’t Lumon’s world. It is ours to shape.