SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Mykhailo Zborovsky, expert in strategic development of iGaming products, argues that the world of working in iGaming is akin to the popular television series Severance. Zborovsky notices that there is significant burnout in the industry, which has caused a drop in motivation.
Have you heard of the series Severance? It starts as a dystopia but quickly turns into a mirror of today’s working world. The plot revolves around employees who agree to undergo “consciousness severance”: one version of themselves exists only at work, while the other lives solely outside the office. A wall separates them—no memories, no control, complete isolation.
At first glance, it seems like pure fiction. But what if it’s already our reality? In many areas, we face a version of this split every day—not through a brain chip, but through corporate rules, routines, and expectations. And this division is no less effective.
Forming an Alternative “Self” Is Closer Than It Seems
Modern companies no longer just build systems—they shape personalities. New employees undergo onboarding, absorb the company’s values, and learn internal etiquette. It’s part of the game. But the real problem begins when the “work self” starts to overtake the authentic one.
In many teams, a troubling trend is becoming more common: employees are distancing themselves from the outcomes of their labour. Tasks are performed mechanically, without inner involvement. It’s no longer a matter of choice, but a matter of procedure. And when your “self” is absent from your work, the sense of accomplishment disappears with it.
This isn’t always visible at first. But when a person no longer feels connected to their own decisions, it’s no longer professionalism—it’s self-alienation.
Severance captures this moment precisely. Take Mark (hero of the series), for example: in the outside world, he’s withdrawn and grieving, having chosen severance to escape the pain of losing his wife. But his “innie” self knows nothing of this and begins to ask questions. His doubts and search for truth become the first step toward resistance.
Another powerful example is heroine Helly. Her “inner self” immediately rejects the rules of the game. She resists, tries to escape, even attempts to take her own life—because she refuses to be reduced to a function. Eventually, she discovers that, in the outside world, she is the daughter of the company’s CEO who is promoting this very technology. Her protest becomes the most powerful act of reconnecting with her true identity.
Even secondary characters like Irving embody this conflict. His “innie” is a devoted believer in the company, strictly following its rules. But his “outie” is a painter, creating bizarre, surreal images from work in an attempt to understand what’s really going on. It’s a clash between belief in the system and its actual reality.
Then Comes Burnout and the Loss of Self
Burnout isn’t just about being tired. It’s about losing the internal connection to yourself in your professional role. You’re physically present but running on autopilot—completing tasks, attending meetings, but without emotional engagement. It feels like someone else is living your life—even if that “someone” is still you, just in survival mode. Over time, you stop asking questions—about yourself or about the process.
According to a 2023 Gallup study, 59% of employees in the digital entertainment sector report feeling “emotionally exhausted,” and 37% say they’ve “lost personal engagement in their projects.” This isn’t about laziness—it’s about the gap between who you are and who you’re expected to be within the system.
That’s exactly the state experienced by the “innies” in Severance. They live inside the office, with no idea of the outside world, carrying out tasks they don’t understand. No one even tells them what their work is for. It’s the perfect metaphor for burnout: you keep working, but you no longer know why.
What Kills Motivation?
Companies today know how to incentivise—bonuses fly in, metrics shine, even team buildings can be full of spark. But all this only works as long as you see yourself in your work.
The moment you start feeling like you’re just ticking boxes, everything starts to fall apart. You may still be physically present, but you’re no longer really there. And it’s not necessarily burnout—it’s that your “instruction manual self” has slowly pushed out the real you.
People don’t leave because of bad conditions. They leave when they stop feeling a connection.
In Severance, this is shown in scenes where employees are “rewarded” with childish treats: stickers, cupcakes, musical parties. It’s an ironic critique of the corporate approach to motivation—where shallow entertainment is offered instead of meaningful engagement. Just enough to keep things going, nothing more.
Why Is It So Easy to Lose Yourself in Bureaucratic Systems?
Large companies—especially those built on standardised processes, strict control, and rigid hierarchies—often operate in short, repetitive cycles: action → report → new cycle. Everything gets reduced to procedures, metrics, and “rational” decisions.
The issue is that, over time, teams working within these systems begin to think the same way. More and more—“by the script,” “on autopilot.” There’s less doubt, less initiative, fewer questions. People start functioning like a system component rather than a living, thinking person.
This isn’t an exaggeration. When you do the same thing every day and your freedom keeps shrinking, your interest naturally fades. At first, you miss the details. Eventually, you stop being mentally present altogether.
So Who Bears Responsibility for the Actions of the “Work Self”?
You always do. Even if a decision is dictated by your role, a manual, or a faceless dashboard. Because the consequences—reputational, ethical, psychological—are lived through not by a “function,” but by a real human being.
Severance makes this conflict literal, splitting a person into a work self and a private self. But in real life, the boundary blurs quietly—when you start making decisions that contradict your values, all while hiding behind “the system said so.”
After the data breach of 87 million Facebook users, managers explained that they were simply “executing tasks according to the product roadmap.” The Volkswagen dieselgate scandal began with a “not my responsibility” attitude, when developers created software to cheat emissions tests. At Wells Fargo, thousands of employees opened fake accounts for years—because the motivation system pushed their “work selves” to meet KPIs at any cost.
In every one of these cases, there was a person who could have said “stop.” But they didn’t—because they didn’t feel it was their responsibility. And that’s the danger. A role can simplify a decision, but it can’t free you from its consequences. Responsibility always finds its way back to your real self.
In both real life and in the show, there’s always a moment when you can choose. In the Season 2 finale (spoiler alert!), the characters finally get a chance to see who they truly are, and make their first real decision not as functions, but as individuals. It’s the climax, a return of control.
Returning to Yourself Isn’t a Privilege—It’s a Demand of Our Time
We can automate processes, optimise tasks, delegate decisions to algorithms. But the self isn’t part of a manual. And when a system forces a person to live in two modes—“work” and “real”—they gradually lose both.
This isn’t just philosophy, it’s about real business outcomes.
In 2023, Harvard Business Review named psychological safety the key ingredient of high-performing teams. Where employees can be themselves, admit mistakes, and speak openly, organisations perform better.
Gallup data confirms it: employees experiencing burnout are 2.6 times more likely to be job hunting, and only 23% of workers globally feel that their voice matters. These are red flags—of disengagement, turnover, and talent loss.
That’s why wholeness isn’t a buzzword. It’s a new model of leadership. It’s the ability to build teams and brands where people don’t have to hide behind a role. Where professionalism doesn’t come at the expense of personality. Where you can be effective and stay true to yourself.
Severance doesn’t just depict the “split.” It proves a deeper truth: no system has the right to strip a person of their wholeness.
Because the worst thing a system can do is raise a professional who no longer remembers why they’re here.
