It’s generally a bad deal for the worker compared to cash. An assembly line worker has absolutely zero say in the direction of the company, their work will never meaningfully move the needle on stock price, so it makes no sense to tie their income to something they have no control over.
Share-based compensation can be good if the stock is heading up, because it's cheaper for the company to pay it than cash is. In between the award and vesting, the increase is paid for by equity investors.
But, you have to keep working there and you have to be able to afford to wait for the vesting.
