Yep, employers under capitalism only understand leverage. Job hop, play multiple offers against each other, negotiate a higher salary and have the power to walk. It feels sleazy but it's self preservation. It's only as sleazy as their incentive to pay you as little as possible.
"Hard work" was the wisdom passed down but I think it came from confirmation bias. If your employer gives you good raises just to keep you, you'll feel you deserve it instead of attributing it to a very good job market for workers.
It's cool, we figure it out after a year or so in this environment (if nobody has told us.)