> increasing the value returned to the people doing the actual work that created the profit in the first place

Tangentially reminds me of the Costco Hot Dog story. [0] We know that companies rather increase prices for consumers to have better balance sheets, than changing product strategies, and for sure we know actual workers get the shortest end of the stick.

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costco_hot_dog#Cultural_impact