It's not.

Pairs switch up every day or two and people switch teams every 12-16 weeks or so. Also there's a strong belief in "open door" policy for impromptu conversations with the product managers or other devs, and in having build/test/CD pipeline status screens visible by the team at all times.

So the status quot is one of constant churn and never settling into any kind of groove, ever.

Sounds extremely stressful

If you're in a small team, you get to know everyone, and cross-pollinate the various skills some individuals may have over others. The groove and "team gel" happens within a couple of weeks.

It's not for everyone, and there are some "consulting" individual contributors here and there, but the point is to have a sustainable pace that's always "busy" and everyone is "checked in" rather than have a few weeks of "crunch time" to meet a deadline. Some need to "check out" for a while, that's also fine.

Most product cycles last 3-4 months, and it's up to you if you want to switch teams. some don't.

theoretically less friction in 'switching pairs': finding a new desk when you start a new task with a different person should be easier than giving up an office