The point I was trying to highlight is that time spent on wading through the current situation is time not spent thinking critically about the inherent problems of said situation.

I'm not saying to down tools and get on the war path with management, but to rather try to balance accepting whatever you are told and never coming up for air, versus sitting back for a time to analyse the situation and identify potential improvements.

Ultimately it comes down to the individual, and whether they want to be a cog in the wheel, or whether they are interested in both improving themselves and thereby improving their employer.