I think it depends on the ESOP, the companies i've worked at ESOP happened at 10-15% discount of the real price at the buy time and those stocks are instantly sellable. They can be taxed differently yeah but depending on how much you are buying and sell its capital gains tax which can be lower than income tax.

Edit: I am conflating RSUs and stock options never worked somewhere without RSUs so there might be a gap in my experience

What behavioral incentive do lotto tickets give the buyer? Options/stock work for both parties because of alignment.