A huge proportion of the workforce are employed by listed, publicly traded companies. Those workers can use their salary to buy as many shares as they want on the open market, and also sell those shares whenever they want.
The fact that people tend not to do this very often tells you that people don't actually want to have any "real share of the company, or say in the direction of it".
I don't need shares of stock to survive. I do need food, shelter, and access to transportation to my source of income. Am I missing something about the risk of investing in the stock market when basic needs could be put at risk? (i.e., a dollar put into the stock market could have been a dollar put into savings to help me in times of need)
The fact that people tend not to do this very often tells you that people don't actually want to have any "real share of the company, or say in the direction of it".