Oh yes you're absolutely right. And while I'm only an engineer and have no "real" say in how the company is run, and no remuneration except for my monthly paych

Oh yes you're absolutely right. And while I'm only an engineer and have no "real" say in how the company is run, and no remuneration except for my monthly paycheck, I've definitely been part of the problem. I work crazy hours, I'm totally addicted to the problem-solution "high" feedback loop. There have definitely been times when I've thought some people weren't pulling their weight. But with the passage of time, I've mellowed a bit and I've come to realize the importance of downtime and all those hard to quantify things. For the most part, my employer has treated people pretty well. Workload has been high, but flexibility has always been high as well. Along with $$$. Working here has definitely given me an appreciation for the hard work it takes to get a company off the ground.