There are two parts to this. The first part is, if something is wrong at your employer, should you try to negotiate, or leave? The thing to realise is that con

There are two parts to this. The first part is, if something is wrong at your employer, should you try to negotiate, or leave? The thing to realise is that conditions at an employer are already the result of negotiation, even if it isn't overt, and even if it happened before you joined. Leaving is an inefficient way of communicating your preferences, and many things are too minor to bother, or too minor at the margin to bother leaving, but you would be lobster-boiled if you let them slide. Also, to be brutal about it, top managers and CEOS are there because they are good at taking advantage. If they see an opportunity to take advantage of their employees, they do. So you are in a negotiation with them, like it or not. The second part is, should you declare yourself an activist? I think this is more questionable. It is not necessary to follow the patterns of activism to push back against problematic decisions. You may well be better off making it clear that you consider a particular issue unacceptable, and making the employer aware that the consensus among employees is that it is unacceptable, while making it clear that apart from that, you are a loyal and trustworthy employee. Activism sets up a narrative in which you are their adversary.