> Then I worked for a tech giant, and then for a high-growth unicorn. It shocked me how dilbertesque they both were. Full of politicians, and burnt out engineers in golden handcuffs who can't wait to get out, and meaningless business speak, and checked out employees who pretend they're "excited" about everything all the time. The young, wide-eyed engineers seem hopelessly naive to me now.

I don't know this person. I wasn't there. I don't know which tech giant.

Certainly there are plenty of stories of large multinationals with dilbertesque politics, and checked out zombies.

But something tells me that this author's experience was only because he was comparing it to the glory days of his own startup where everyone was intensely invested and engaged.

The truth is there is a middle ground: employment. You are engaged insofar as you receive a paycheck, and you want to do good work to continue getting that paycheck. But you also care enough to do a good job because you're human, and because you want a raise or a promotion, or even a cookie from your peers that says "go you". You probably also like the specific job more than you would other ones.

The loudest stories rise to the top of HN, but I think most professional industry is just this. That doesn't mean it's unhealthy. Politics has purpose.

And when you yourself are cynical, everyone else's excitement rings hollow and you think they are pretending and are actually checked out..