Been through that once before. Pre remote working. Had a company meeting, when people got back to their desk their PC was gone a security guard was waiting with a box and escort them to the door. Horrible to see long term colleagues treated like that.
Never nice to be honest. I get why it's done if you're working with ultra secure/sensitive stuff but always has to be done in the best possible way.
Something on my mind quite a bit lately work wise - scope creep/expectations on top of my base role seem to be ever expanding while the uplift for performing those extra duties hasn't moved on, even though I've had some increase to my base pay. Wouldn't mind so much but increasingly lately it is a headache due to other parts of the business dropping the ball and I'm having to do a lot of damage control.
Looking around for the same level of headache I could be getting 20-30% more money with the possibility of progress (possibly even double the salary) but on the other hand I don't need the money and there are benefits to where I am in terms of autonomy, fitting with my lifestyle and work with some decent people. (I've previously worked with some very difficult people so always leery on that aspect of going into somewhere new).
But I'm certainly feeling less and less motivated and more and more edging into the quiet/slow quit mindset even though that isn't me.
Do you have a yearly plan? Is there scope for progression and has that been articulated, written down and followed? Some places are quite bad about doing such things even though they might see you positively. Or they haven't even considered it or you're not building up a recordable track record etc.
This will determine if there is a sense to this pattern or not. And it will definitely help with compensation. Don't be dismissive about it, money earned is hugely compounded and will help significantly in the future with other interesting roles. 30% is a lot of money to leave on the table especially if there is chance for even more progression.
Say you're on 50k, that's 65k, so another 5 years of work so you've earned another 75k. That's 1.5 years of currently salary. Then the next job you like might be too much of a leap if they don't see progression and seniority there.
I would have a look at the classic where do you want to be in X years question and use it to either fight for more in current role or to look for something else.
Hangtime is right, eventually the pay will gnaw away at you and it can be very frustrating when it happens. If you have the opportunity to change it now, do it. Work is only work, so therefore the more you get for your time.