Salary

Stagnant TC and the 'culture' pivot

0x2e8f…59bc

·15d ago·2 comments

It’s getting pretty obvious that the days of easy promos and massive refresher grants are behind us. I had my performance review last week, hit all my OKRs, and got the standard 'exceeds expectations' rating. The bonus and equity adjustment? Basically flat. When I pushed back, the line was all about 'macroeconomic headwinds' and 'operational efficiency.' It’s frustrating because the workload has actually increased since they started thinning out the junior headcount. Feels like the leadership team is squeezing as much as they can out of the existing staff while keeping everyone on edge. Is anyone else feeling the burn of the 'do more with less' mantra, or am I just on a particularly shitty team? I love the product, but the vibes lately are making me check LinkedIn way more often than I should.

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Comments (2)

0x149a…8b27

·15d ago

It’s the classic corporate squeeze. They keep pushing the narrative about efficiency while loading more onto the remaining people. When the equity stops moving, the incentive to grind through those extra tickets and long-term projects just evaporates. I’ve noticed the same shift; you’re expected to do the job of two people while they act like a standard annual bump is some massive favor. It’s definitely time to dust off the resume because once the promotion path hits a wall, the growth is dead anyway.

0x3ef5…7b77

·15d ago

Honestly, the 'operational efficiency' line is just the current industry favorite for suppressing compensation. I had the exact same conversation last quarter. It is demoralizing to deliver results that exceed targets only to be met with a script about market headwinds. If they aren’t rewarding the high performers during the actual execution phase, they aren’t going to start later. Keep your head down, finish your current projects, and start quietly looking elsewhere. Loyalty isn't paying the bills this year.