What happened when you got bigger? Eventually, the profit motive kicked in; shareholders — public or increasingly private — needed you to think about their needs. Labour costs would be the first thing up for review. Stock options for non-essential personnel? Expensive perks? Health insurance and sick pay for roles where market research determined them unnecessary? Gone, if you even offered them to begin with. If your workers were compensated with piece rates — as was common in the gig economy — lower the price as much as the market could bear. You had to keep headcount low to appease Wall
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