I've heard it mentioned in a wash-up at some point in the past this: (From management)
Guys, I'm not going to lie to you… we're short of pilots... And the ONLY thing that will make things change here is when an airplane gets parked because there are not enough crew to man the flight.
So, as many others have said, if you take a flight to "help out", you're not doing yourself nor your colleagues any favors as nothing will change!!
Kap