The new union era
Severance, a new show from Apple TV+, tells the story of a group of workers who have chosen to compartmentalise their cognitive experience. At work, they don’t remember a world outside of their office; at home, they have no recollection of their working lives. This prospect of life being so unpleasant on either side of the personal/professional coin that people want to divide their memories isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. Indeed, 61% of American workers report feeling burned out, and approval of labour unions hit a 56-year high of 68% in 2021 – a combination that’s impacting major companies like Amazon and Starbucks, as well as independent music labels like Secretly Group. The resurgence of unions is part of a wider resistance against toxic corporate culture. People are fed up with being taken for granted and frustrated by an employer-employee paradigm that keeps the power in the hands of a few. With the pandemic showing that there are different ways of working and inflation fuelling financial pressures, people are feeling galvanised to advocate for new working cultures and systems. In public and private, the unionisation movement highlights the everyday struggles that people are facing – and an increasing lack of tolerance towards the status quo. So, with rising anger against burnout culture and poor pay, how can businesses make ‘work’ work for the people?
