This disconnect doesn’t really surprise me. It’s very easy for someone who didn’t spend much time working on a specific project (usually upper management) to take a quick look at some metrics they might have available (hours worked, number of lines coded, etc.) and quickly but inaccurately award people that may not have deserved it if they asked the entire team working on it. This also heavily depends on the office culture of the company. Is it very highly competitive between departments? Is it lax where promotions are very rare? I feel like certain office cultures ask for more from the individual to benefit the team, or the bottom line. Ultimately it’s up to the individual to decide if the company they’re at feels like a job or not.