Agreed it’s a similar psychological principal, but the threat model you’re describing from HR is silly. ESPP is only for publicly traded companies, and when th

Agreed it’s a similar psychological principal, but the threat model you’re describing from HR is silly. ESPP is only for publicly traded companies, and when the purchase goes through, you get shares at a discount on the more advantageous of the starting and ending stock prices. HR has no power to prevent you from selling that stock, it’s held in a stock account over which you have full control and HR has none.