I’m sorry, but I think I disagree. I interpreted your point as “Employers care, you just have to hold them accountable”. I don’t think that is the attitude of companies who want to do things the right way. If workers have more rights than they know, and employers are aware of it, then I do not think that’s an mistake, that’s exploitation.
I actually agree, I own my computer / OS and I should be able to do what you’re saying (install and break things). But Microsoft is a trillion dollar multi national corporation and I am certainly going to give them grief about this because I owe them less than nothing, let alone any good will.