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> I think the general public (and by that I mean including software engineers too) overestimate the likelihood of a huge screw-up leading to being fired

I've seen this misconception perpetuated by management even in countries with very strong worker protection laws. Works particularly great on people who already have strong work ethics and internal fears, it stokes that fire. Employees would work as if any failure could lead to termination, especially in emergencies. Those managers use this as a "motivational" tool (as much as a hammer to the face can motivate you). They can squeeze more results out of their teams and maybe edge out a promotion.

It's illuminating to see when the people understand the pressure is many times fake, that even the internal SLAs are more relaxed than what they fear.