Yeah, I agree. The people that don't hop put in minimal effort. Like me a lot of the time. My minimal is still better than any other engineer's average usually,

Yeah, I agree. The people that don't hop put in minimal effort. Like me a lot of the time. My minimal is still better than any other engineer's average usually, but still. I haven't been motivated by anything other than the tech itself in awhile and it's gotten to the point where I no longer care what the best decision is for the company but only for myself. Hey, that's what they're paying for. Due to inflation and new policies, I make less money, have half the vacation, and much shittier health insurance than when I started over half a decade ago. So overall, I have decreased my time, dedication, passion, and performance to compensate. If that's the only way I can get a raise, that's how I'll get it. I wish more managers/executives would understand what you just explained and how badly it hurts their business to constantly have employee turnaround. I have yet to meet a manager or executive who consistently understands motivation and rewards it properly in the way you describe. There are other handcuffs though, especially in the software industry: tech stack, pay available in the area, remote work, flexibility, and now corona.