For every strep of any project there are reams of paper work to fill out. One can only fill out paperwork so long before moving on.
I think the worst realization is that they only care about the paperwork when they want to care about the paperwork. Plenty of time someone important just ignores everything, does whatever they want, and says, “Screw the paperwork.” But the little people must slave away relentlessly on that massive pile of paperwork which, at a deep level, simply doesn’t matter. Except when they want to screw someone with it. Paperwork is not treated as a useful tool. It’s a weapon.