Ah, stock-based compensation. This period has been incredibly difficult for Meta employees. I personally know some friends working on challenging software problems at Meta. Stock-based compensation does get in the way of doing a great job, employees get distracted on the realities of how the market perceives the company.

Shares of Facebook and Instagram parent Meta have plummeted more than 40 per cent over the past six months – and some employees saddled with underwater stock options are eyeing the exits.

“Joined Meta near [all time stock high], now feeling like sh*t,” one Meta employee said this week in a popular thread on Blind, a corporate message board with verified members. “What should I do?”

Meta is facing a worker stampede as its stock price has fallen from an all-time high of more than $US380 ($A512) in September to $US216.49 ($A292) at the time of writing.

The slide started last year as a damning series of leaks put massive political pressure on the company and kicked into overdrive as Meta started to feel the multibillion-dollar sting of privacy changes from Apple and Google that are pummelling its advertising business.

At Meta, new hires are typically given a set number of restricted stock units based on the company’s average stock price around the time they were hired. That means there can be huge upsides for employees who join before a company’s stock rockets – but it also leaves them vulnerable to downturns.

For example, a Meta employee who was given $US100,000 ($A134,000) worth of restricted stock units around the company’s September stock peak would now be left with roughly $US57,000 ($A76,000).

News AU

Meta might be a little lost at this point, they are no longer the growth company they were 8 years ago. Their user base is gradually getting bored with the content and moving to alternatives such as Tik-Tok. And the whole metaverse thing is too gimmicky for me.

I wish Meta employees best of luck, find something else, and maybe sell some of that stock you have to reduce the exposure.