I'd just like to make a comment about human endeavour generally. It is a messy business, full of inefficiencies and strange quirks. Yet somehow, we still manage to invent amazing things across the planet.
What you are describing is certainly not unique to FAANG, and certainly not true for all FAANG (or anywhere). There will always be places where the pace is glacial, or getting work done is hard. There will be others where it is easier.
There will be times when you are struggling to get things done, even in a good environment. Life will not always be as simple as it was (children, life traumas, financial change, political instability, medical events, who knows). Other times, life will be easier and you will have time to wonder and plan on top of regular life.
The one constant is that you are often in charge of a certain amount of agency with regards to yourself and your own output. Why shrug your shoulders and do less in your current team? If the company will not offer things to you to 'work harder', why not just do it anyway if you are capable? Some people don't even have two hands! This is flippant but the point is: do not rely on solely external motivations to do brilliant things.
Counterpoint: Don't work yourself to death in a team or organisation that will not value your output. Do good things, and use them to move laterally (or elsewhere entirely) until you find a good fit. It probably won't be perfect - but flaws can bring benefit too, even if only as a balanced perspective.
Anyway, carry on and do well despite those around you acting as anchors or wet blankets. Find some colleagues in the lunch area that will act as sails, and be their sea breeze. Invest something great, or make small invisible improvements to many peoples lives (quite possible in a FAANG) and take heart that you did well for yourself, and not for some performance metric.
What you are describing is certainly not unique to FAANG, and certainly not true for all FAANG (or anywhere). There will always be places where the pace is glacial, or getting work done is hard. There will be others where it is easier.
There will be times when you are struggling to get things done, even in a good environment. Life will not always be as simple as it was (children, life traumas, financial change, political instability, medical events, who knows). Other times, life will be easier and you will have time to wonder and plan on top of regular life.
The one constant is that you are often in charge of a certain amount of agency with regards to yourself and your own output. Why shrug your shoulders and do less in your current team? If the company will not offer things to you to 'work harder', why not just do it anyway if you are capable? Some people don't even have two hands! This is flippant but the point is: do not rely on solely external motivations to do brilliant things.
Counterpoint: Don't work yourself to death in a team or organisation that will not value your output. Do good things, and use them to move laterally (or elsewhere entirely) until you find a good fit. It probably won't be perfect - but flaws can bring benefit too, even if only as a balanced perspective.
Anyway, carry on and do well despite those around you acting as anchors or wet blankets. Find some colleagues in the lunch area that will act as sails, and be their sea breeze. Invest something great, or make small invisible improvements to many peoples lives (quite possible in a FAANG) and take heart that you did well for yourself, and not for some performance metric.