It’s the classic “last founder or first employee” problem. If you are an employee at a startup, have no illusions: if “they”[1] don’t give a shit about you now, you can be sure “they” will not give a shit about you later.
[1]: the company is and always be an inanimate and abstract object, your boss and colleagues will change
Choosing to not care is much harder as we have all had years of education conditioning us that we need to achieve more and to be the best.
Very much so. I enjoyed reading Coddling of the American Mind as well. Not 1:1 but related to the conditioning, lack of maturity, and in some cases, learned helplessness.
Sometimes it looks like people are burning out because of extreme workloads. In these situations, I've always asked "why is the workload so extreme to begin with?" This gets you to the real source of stress.
“You're just worms in the worst part of the apple that's rotten You squirm and you turn from the right, still plottin All slimy cause you stay grimy, petty crimey”
While some have no alternative others enjoy that kind of game and are part of the problem. Best stay away from such jobs, and undermine corporate at every turn.