Not exactly what you are thinking of but inextricably linked: My company went through a phase of instability a few years ago. A friend introduced me to a very senior IC about a technical problem based on a hallway conversation. in our informal meeting, the IC began to question the value of my project. shortly after, my manager (who always had total visibility into my project), reassigned me.

Maybe this is a creative destruction success story, but the informal nature of all these discussions prevented me from having the chance to gather and present information on my work.

Additionally, when layoffs started a bit later, every single "How is it going?" felt like it could end up tipping the scales, which made every trip to the bathroom a stressful gauntlet