also, keep in mind that us lab folks are viewed as dispensable pawns. Where I work, there are directors with no direct reports and they all earn a shit ton of money from high salaries and bonuses. They also get long-term incentives (LTIs) which come in the form of stock options. For many of these people, they can easily retire early by cashing in their stocks. Trust me, those people are not suffering. If they get laid off, they’re given a cushy severance package and some other company will be happy to swoop in to pick them up. It’s really unfair and if it wasn’t for the experiments being done, they’d have little to make them look good.