I worked for a startup from 2015 to 2022. From 2015 to 2020, it was great. I (and most other employees) was working hard, and was consistently rewarded for my

I worked for a startup from 2015 to 2022. From 2015 to 2020, it was great. I (and most other employees) was working hard, and was consistently rewarded for my efforts. In 2021, the company benefited from a huge boost due to the pandemic. Hiring went through the roof and the company became very performance focused. Unfortunately "performance" now meant "meeting your OKRs" and nothing else. The company culture went through the drain. Most of the new hires were from FAANG and knew very well how to play the game. Whereas before, if you asked someone for help, they would help you, now the answer became "file a run ticket". After all, why would you spend time helping anyone? That's time not spent on your own OKRs, and that's literally the only thing that matters. Nevertheless, I kept working hard. I was involved in multiple company initiatives, mentored new hires, still helped people when they asked for help, etc. After a year, when performance review time came, I got a "meets expectations". I was livid, and asked my manager how that could be possible. He basically told me that he had no visibility into all the non-team initiatives I was involved in, and that it was my own fault for not making myself more visible and drafting my OKRs in a way that would have allowed him to justify why I deserved more than "meets expectations". I refused to play the game and told my manager I was sure I could get "meets expectations" by doing a lot less. I basically slammed the door on all the side initiatives I was involved in and stopped doing anything besides "core work". I went from working 50+ hours a week to working 25-30 hours. I did not enjoy it -- I was actively miserable, and started taking steps to move on. It took me nearly a year to leave the company (I was on a visa that did not allow me to switch jobs so had to obtain an H-1B, which took time). Another perf review came by, and lo and behold, I got "meets expectations" again. I am so much happier in my new job, but I'm still salty about the previous company. What used to be a great company culture became a toxic, political, gamed environment. (Oh, and of course they had a huge layoff round a few months ago. But hey, at least leadership "took responsibility" for overhiring.)