This is a simplistic analysis of the "duty to the shareholder" principle. The wellbeing and happiness of the operations staff directly impacts competency, effi

This is a simplistic analysis of the "duty to the shareholder" principle. The wellbeing and happiness of the operations staff directly impacts competency, efficiency, and retention. And those all directly affect, among other things, the cost of operations. One doesn't need to resort to investor altruism to make the case that paying better leads to better economic outcomes. This is no different than when Nike charges $300+ for shoes that have the same BOM and applied labor as a cheaper shoe. In neither case do you see investors pushing for a race to the bottom, simply because of the existence of lower cost competitors.