The study aims to explore the performance-oriented university experiences of a group of academics. The study, which focuses on academics working in the Faculty of Business, used a basic qualitative research design. The research focuses on the dimensions of academics’ performance-oriented experiences. The fieldwork was built around focus group interview data and participant observations of the researchers were used while the findings were interpreted. The data are coded as explicit, axial and selective, and the performance experiences of the academics are interpreted. In order to increase the validity of the research, triangulation of data sources and triangulation of researchers in analysis were made. According to the findings of the research, three main aspects of academics’ performance-oriented cultural experiences were defined as academic work transformation, working conditions and employment relations and network relations. In the future discussion of academic work, the consequences of intensive quality loss and unfair earnings, which are caused by performance focus, have become clear. In terms of working conditions and employment relations, work and peer pressure on participants were experienced in terms of the university’s performative climate, the criteria for appointment and promotion. Finally, it is emphasized that the academic network has become a necessity as a pressure element for academic performance.