Ask HN: Does your job feel like a production line?

In my current job and previous job there has been a huge emphasis on estimates for work and estimates vs. actual.

This is on the level of all tasks, even 2hr ones.

I find it causes stress as I am always looking at the clock and sometimes taking shortcuts so I don't feel the shame of going over or asking for more time.

It also means I don't bother thinking or exploring ideas to make things better as there isn't a JIRA ticket for that and i would have to get permission first. Probably they'd say no because backlog takes priority.

I've been taken to task for how long something has taken many times. I'm sick of it.

It was a big reason I quit my last job and similarly might quit this one.

These are in otherwise prima facie great jobs: good pay, good side perks like you'd imagine from Google.

Is this the trend towards holding a stopwatch up to he developers head?, have I been unlucky, am I being unrealistic to go back to the old days where your boss broadly trusts you?