Yes, people think that writing performant software is something that's nice-to-have when in fact if you program with the intention of things being performant then that branches out to better overall design, better user experience, better quality etc. It means you actually care about what you're doing. Most people don't care and the results are apparent. We're surrounded by waste everywhere. Bad software wastes resources like money, electricity and most importantly - time.
The fact that people don't stay long enough in companies or work on a long project themselves to see the fruits of their labour down the line is a point that is discussed in some of the other comments here in this thread. I agree with it as well. In general if you job hop a lot you won't see the after effects of your actions. And the industry is such that if you want to get paid, you need to move. To reiterate - it's a sad state of affairs.
The fact that people don't stay long enough in companies or work on a long project themselves to see the fruits of their labour down the line is a point that is discussed in some of the other comments here in this thread. I agree with it as well. In general if you job hop a lot you won't see the after effects of your actions. And the industry is such that if you want to get paid, you need to move. To reiterate - it's a sad state of affairs.