In my previous life as an IT-consultant we had a saying that went along the lines of: "Having fun at work is the same as stealing from your employer". Maybe the pilot seats fill a similar function to keep the levels of happiness down?
Another theory is that it's much better having pilots complaining about seats and by that keeping their focus (whining) away from how the company is managed.
/2beers
"Easily distracted by shiny objects"