I mean yes, if you waste time on worked that does not bring value, people tend to get cranky. If you then take longer than you said, it's not a mood enhancer.

That's not a people problem though. That's failure to recognize that a company pays its employees money to make more money, not to have a pretty code base.

Yes, that means communicating the value, but that's not a people problem. That's a skills issue.

"anyone above senior engineer level needs to know how to collaborate cross-functionally"

If you can't collaborate xfn and deal with other people in general, you are not a senior engineer, despite the title inflation.