> In the startup world? Legal practices?

Yes and both of these places require all/most of the things he listed in order to get to a director position.

> Same here, but as an employee. And I didn't end up owning a company in the end.

Do you think it would have been more or less severe if you were had the extra responsibilities and commitments that came with being in a controlling position of the company?

> None of them ended up filthy rich either.

So? They didn't sign up for that. I don't expect to get paid $200k a year when I sign a contract saying I will get paid $50k.

> I'm in my 30s and am reluctant to get married and have kids because of uncertainty over my future.

Wouldn't being put in a controlling share of a company only make that situation worse?

> My industry is flooded with labour, pay keeps going down and management keeps getting more unreasonable.

Maybe because the economy is currently tanking and has been tanking for the last 4 years. Don't worry im sure Obama's recovery will kick in as soon as he gets in office.

"to get a director position"

v0cab challenged the idea that employees aren't actually "entitled to own a piece of a company" unless they go through these great hardships. This is obviously incorrect because some companies provide shares as part of employee compensation, making those employees also part owners of the company - they are 'entitled to own a piece of a company.'

You cannot now switch this to mean 'to get to a director position'.

"Do you think it would have been more or less severe ..."

In the first startup I worked for, I think it didn't make a difference. I took on responsibilities that weren't part of the job, and unlike the management, who were at least 15 years older than I was, I didn't have the experience to separate myself from my work. I felt that I, personally, had to work harder so that the company wouldn't fail.

And I got paid under market wages for it. (Did I mention that I was completely inexperienced?)

While the management of the company had enough experience to demand compensation which was more commensurate with their market rates, with good insurance, and definitely enough that they had more stability in their respective futures.

"Wouldn't being put in a controlling share of a company only make that situation worse?"

It depends on the company, doesn't it? If I had a controlling share of, say, Microsoft, then I think I could guarantee a very comfortable financial future for myself.

BTW, when you say "controlling share", you mean here ownership, not management, yet earlier you talked about management ('director position'). I don't understand why you changed the topic.

> Do you think it would have been more or less severe if you were had the extra responsibilities and commitments that came with being in a controlling position of the company?

I don't know. Is being a shareholder particularly stressful? Do Scandinavians find that their unions sitting on work councils and having a say in major company decisions increases job stress?

> So? They didn't sign up for (being filthy rich). I don't expect to get paid $200k a year when I sign a contract saying I will get paid $50k.

Contracts can be renegotiated.

> Wouldn't being put in a controlling share of a company only make that situation worse?

Depends on the situation. I believe that the current state of research indicates that people are more stressed by situations outside of their control. I guess the company would have limited liability, so not too much financial risk and much to gain financially. Of course, financial worries are a major source of stress for most stressed people.