I may be on a bit of a tangent here, but the "bar is below the floor" effect (if I can call it that) is often the result of continued experience in multiple (so-called Tier I, in the author's version of it) companies. It leads to stagnation and a lack of concern for the product or result of their work. In other words, if they pay me, and they don't care about the work, why should I?

Such environments can demotivate and sap the joy from most mental work. I guess this is one of the reasons the author is committed only to part-time work. To paraphrase him - this is how he stays sane.