I'm curious how the rewards in the "best places" to work look like. There was a famous study that found that developers are happy when they get enough money not to care, but in real life this doesn't seem to be the case. Whenever I speak with my management buddies, they always lament about engineers who complain they're not being appreciated enough. When asked what proper appreciation would look like, they always give various answers which always boil down to money (i.e. "you could praise me in front of everyone for the great job I did, but actually want a raise / more money than the guy I perceive to be a slacker").
If we're being honest, one is employed by the company to make them money, so it will always more or less boil down to this. Would anyone be satisfied that they made their boss a million more, while getting a pat on the back and the same salary?
(I am the person you're responding to). For me personally, comp is an indicator that I am working on something important and that I am being appreciated - so yes, when I talk about being "rewarded" I am talking about comp and other tangibles like flexibility, etc. in addition to respect. And look, if a company has been good to me but there's a tough year and everyone gets small raises, I can roll with that as part of the longer term commitment, but that has to be offset by fat raises in fat years.
This might be different for people who are happy to work for small comp in a non-profit or a lean startup, but I struggle to relate to that personally (doesn't mean they are wrong but its not for me.)
Praise is cheap. If a company really appreciates you, they will give you money. It's how they keep score. (Or some cash equivalent like stock, or options.)
If we're being honest, one is employed by the company to make them money, so it will always more or less boil down to this. Would anyone be satisfied that they made their boss a million more, while getting a pat on the back and the same salary?