On the other hand, stock compensation does come with significant drawbacks.

Due to tax implications, your options might be worth significantly less - if anything at all - because you often have to pay taxes before you are able to sell them. If your company is not yet publicly traded, there is a significant chance it'll be heavily diluted by the time you are able to actually sell it. Even worse, you might never be able to sell it. You might not be able to leave the job when you want to, because you are essentially tied to the stock option vesting period. It also significantly increases your personal risk: what happens when the company performs poorly? You might lose both your job and your wealth at the same time.

The way I see it, the antagonistic relationship exists because management is judged primarily by the shareholder value they create. To an employee, the company is their daily life. To a shareholder, the company exists solely as a means to create money. I would not want to work in a company where everyone is driven solely by shareholder value.

Personally, I'd strongly prefer it if the employer had a workers council, and just gave out bonuses when it was doing good. You still share in the benefits, but you have far less personal risk.