I think specific to America, in the past labor has largely accepted the deteriorating working conditions and meager pay because of the idea of the American Dream...the idea that if you work hard enough, you can become wealthy or at least be able to life a comfortable life (and conversely, if you're not able to live a comfortable life you must not be working hard enough). In America I think there's this traditional idea that if you're not financially stable or successful, it's a personal failing rather than a business failure on the part of your employer. I think this is why the older generations labelled Millennials and Gen Z as lazy bums who just don't want to work, too.
But the younger generations have lived the reality...for most people, unless you get lucky, know the right people, or are born into it, living a comfortable life on an average wage just isn't possible unless you have several people living in a household and working full-time. People at the bottom are treated like disposable cogs, and people a bit further up are treated as so indispensable that they must be chained to their work as if it's there life. Other than for the people at the top and the shareholders who benefit from everyone else's sacrifices, it makes for a miserable experience all around.
The American Dream seems to have shifted to entrepreneurship, something that's glorified in shows like Shark Tank. The show and the millionaire and billionaire investors on the show obviously take great pride in investing and helping small businesses and creating jobs in America. And there are good aspects to entrepreneurship, such as being able to be your own boss and drive your own destiny. But nowhere is rise and grind culture more intense. I've seen the same investors praise contestants who went homeless or starved trying to get their businesses off the ground, berate others as "wanteprenuers" or not being "hungry" enough for not being willing to sacrifice for the business, and insist that people who were working jobs on the side to support themselves quit in order to spend more time on the business, in some cases even making it a requirement to get their investment.
Personally I like Shark Tank as a show, and I like the investors as people, at least as far as I know them. I don't think they mean to do anything but help the contestants on the show, but I also think they're part of a culture that dictates that people sacrifice everything they are for their career...when you think about it, it's not all that different from what's expected as an employee. You're just a slave to your own business rather than someone else's.
