Interesting take. I appreciate the perspective. Maybe I just need a new work environment. I miss working with smart, driven people. Thanks for your thoughts, this is therapy for me.
I completely agree with the advice you got there and I'll add one thing on top.
I give a shit about what I do. I know my employer does not give a shit about me though. My advice: keep a timesheet!
It's amazing how much unpaid overtime people give their employers if the employer doesn't make you fill a timesheet. It's awesome to look at your own timesheet and see that you really really don't need to feel bad about stopping working at 2pm on Friday because even that still keeps you in overtime territory. It doesn't mean you don't give a shit. You gave it your everything while you did the work, you cared about the code you wrote and you still got way more done than the people sitting in the office for 60 hours a week while goofing off on Facebook. The whole WFH thing makes this much easier because you don't have to dread people's turning heads when you leave the office that early.
The other thing is "unlimited vacation". If you have that at your job, make sure you check how much vacation you are actually taking. Companies actually like unlimited vacation policies, which should be enough for you not to like them. People tend to take less vacation under such polociee. Nobody wants to be the one that took the most vacation for some reason and companies exploit that. So keep track and just take the amount you think you should take (within reasonable limits). E.g. 30 days a year is completely fine. If you work in technology in Germany then 30 days is very likely the amount you get, even if you are fresh out of university.
