Many employees join startup companies and accept the long hours associated with them because they are banking on large payouts once the company goes on the public market. However, this upcoming year is not expected to be a good one for many startup employees as companies that were close to entering the market are now hindered by uncertainty in the economy and recent hits to compensation. Stock options and equity are an extremely large proportion of the salaries of startup workers in Silicon Valley, which make these workers vulnerable to the recent declines in tech market valuations.
See "Employees at startup companies to expect hits to their compensation due to uncertainty in tech markets", Priya Anand, Bloomberg, January 19, 2023