Well, it might work for some people, but I guess only short term and they will leave at the first opportunity.
It’s not really just a thought experiment.
Terrible things like slavery and indentured servitude aren’t wide spread because they are illegal… not because they wouldn’t be wildly popular with the class of people who could actually buy slaves and hire overseers to whip them.
In the past scheme, it may have been indentured servants getting the whip, but today it may be undocumented immigrants and H1B1 workers tethered to their current job.