> Do you think it would have been more or less severe if you were had the extra responsibilities and commitments that came with being in a controlling position of the company?
I don't know. Is being a shareholder particularly stressful? Do Scandinavians find that their unions sitting on work councils and having a say in major company decisions increases job stress?
> So? They didn't sign up for (being filthy rich). I don't expect to get paid $200k a year when I sign a contract saying I will get paid $50k.
Contracts can be renegotiated.
> Wouldn't being put in a controlling share of a company only make that situation worse?
Depends on the situation. I believe that the current state of research indicates that people are more stressed by situations outside of their control. I guess the company would have limited liability, so not too much financial risk and much to gain financially. Of course, financial worries are a major source of stress for most stressed people.
> In what virtually reality does one go from "employee" to actually being entitled to own a piece of a company?
In the startup world? Legal practices?
> I have taken trips to the hospital due to the stress caused by business issues.
Same here, but as an employee. And I didn't end up owning a company in the end.
> None of my employees ever missed a paycheck or had to worry about where payroll money would come from. Every.
None of them ended up filthy rich either. I'm in my 30s and am reluctant to get married and have kids because of uncertainty over my future. My industry is flooded with labour, pay keeps going down and management keeps getting more unreasonable.
Why do companies from other countries stand little chance of being successful in the US?
Developed Asian countries do do as much as they can to block US companies; that's the problem. South Korea is being protected by the US, but they are a prime offender. Obama was quite vocal about this before he started running for president.