Exactly this. The historical value of tech companies was that they provided safe, stable employment that gave employees enough slack to do things of value to so

Exactly this. The historical value of tech companies was that they provided safe, stable employment that gave employees enough slack to do things of value to society while tending to the profit engine. As these companies have evolved instead towards tightly-managed, low-slack organizations focused on KPIs, they now actively (and coercively) divert talent and attention from the "exhaust" that had been the positive externality. In this new state they become an active drain on society.