Or maybe people are working harder each year for decreasing post-inflation-adjusted wages and decreasing benefits, wages are not keeping up with costs in many industries and places, they are stressed out and asking why they put themselves through this.

Or perhaps, a scenario that will be familiar to many in tech and I know I have personally witnessed, that some corporate cultures are so completely full of narcissism, and they sweep people up until they think this sort of beast is normal, having a toll on mental health.

Yes. Kipling's gods of the copybook headings return in a rush when a stock market bubble pops. I wonder to what extent you can predict a crash by sensing when the mood of a society has disconnected effort from reward.