In our time BusyB we were run by the Swire brothers who had a paternalistic attitude to management. It worked very well in that cultural and industrial era, I would have walked over broken glass for those guys, they had the organisational touch. As you remember we would work to the limit of FTLs to keep the show on the road, knowing that in the background there were smart people on the ground doing 18 hour days to keep the airline going, in typhoons for example.
Then we got manageised. With the entrance of Mr. Eddington who had the instruction and mandate to take CX into the 21st century, with all that that might entail. The market forces that STW speaks of were beating at the door, and something needed to be done. "We need to break the squadron mentality of the pilots" was one director's outburst. And so it was, to the detriment of the paternalistic system, which encourages and rewards loyalty and expects dedication in return.
The story is told in many industries and companies, aviation was not an exception. Perhaps STW did not work under a system where we enjoyed going to work, worked our butts off and were rewarded in return.
Best to you in your retirement