work/life balance and work satisfaction! I find a lot of the best compensation is bundled with unhealthy organizations with dysfunctional internal relationships. I’ve worked enough on projects and tasks I don’t believe in (or flat-out disagree with) that I know it’s not worth the stress and dissatisfaction.

Of course, if you don’t find dysfunction stressful, or you don’t really enjoy working in your industry regardless, it’s worth it to max the comp. But I’m happiest with a balance of flexible work, passionate coworkers, little bureaucracy, and slightly less money than I could otherwise make.

> It really depends on whether that increase comes at the expense of my work life balance or not

Right, but the point is that apples to apples comparison you'll make a lot more money switching. There's no cost to work life balance or interesting projects or anything. It's 20%+ of your salary every year in exchange for dealing with interviewing and switching companies. It's a pretty fantastic deal.