Some people enjoy it and some people are willing to put up with it because the rewards for good performance are commensurate. A good book that describes this philosophy is Dream Big [1], which is about the group of investors who acquired Anheuser Busch, Heinz, Burger King, and most recently Tim Hortons. Typically in companies where you see this level of commitment there is both a large opportunity for reward and people are rewarded in proportion to the value you bring to the table.

For a look at the opposite end of the spectrum you might look at Microsoft currently (although this seems to be changing with the new CEO). I have a friend who works there currently as a manager and he's told me about the bureaucracy there where people are promoted largely on seniority, rather than merit.

[1]: http://www.amazon.com/DREAM-BIG-Brazilian-Sicupira-Anheuser-...