state of layoffs, but the biggest is probably the employees themselves.

Yes you can point to companies raising tons of VC cash and committing to unrealistic goals. You can blame VC's for throwing cash at anything that had a pulse, but a lot of the money was marked to do one thing... buy talent.

It started small when I was first going, unlimited PTO and some free granola bars. Then it grew to free lunches or breakfasts. Then it was the arms race with salaries and titles. Then it was the ability to work remote and the Great Resgination. Employees pushed companies to the brink. I can't tell you how many resumes I look at over and over again in SAAS and see 12 months here, 14 months there, another 13 months somewhere else. Employees who were hopping job to job for the next bump or title or perk. And companies who were desperate to keep up with every other compaby that kept giving more and more and one upping each other.

Now the money is dried up and companies are laying people off and the employees are all shocked that they would do such a thing. In some ways the companies are taking back some of the power they had lost since 08. I feel like if both sides should have any learning outcomes, it should be modest sustained growth coupled with not holding your companies ransom with unsustainable perks, outrageous salaries, and working practices that only seem to benefit employees. Allow your company to reinvest back into growth of the company so everyone feels good about the relationship. But I doubt that will happen and we will likely get right back to where we were in no time.