Don't blame it on the companies. Blame it on the "shareholders". There is much less "buy and hold" these days, and your friendly local broker relies less on their own savvy than on supercomputers running complex mathematical algorithms buying and selling at the speed of light. Some positions are held only for microseconds, all in order to squeeze the last drops of liquidity out of the market and into their own pockets.
In order to remain attractive, companies have to cut costs to the bone and beyond - there is no room in the market now for companies who care about their employees or their working conditions. The job market is volatile and employees are essentially disposable tools - who cares?
The trade unions who once protected employees have effectively been neutered and play little real part in the game anymore.
It is capitalist heaven for the 0.1% and
for all the rest of us. And I don't see an answer.
[ I believe that HST is sucking the blood out of the World economy - one solution would be that you have to hold a share for at least 24hrs before you can sell it again - I wonder how that would work out?]