[[WMG: 1/3 - The GoldenEnding is actually a good ending.]]
Because the narrator only acts as such. He's not Stanley's boss. He's the narrator. His aren't orders, they're more like hints. The story he wants to tell is that of Stanley's escape. Of course, Stanley has to cooperate, and the five bad endings are the result of Stan not doing so. The narrator is more like "trust me, only I know the way out" rather than "obey and you'll be free". Of course, the FridgeHorror of "without anyone to tell him how to feel, he was happy" remains (the sentence implies Stanley ''suffered for his entire life'', [[StepfordSmiler faking his supposed happiness]]), but still, he has an opportunity to make his own, new life. Even if his past existence makes him unable to relate with other human beings at first, as soon as somebody notices it, he or she will help Stan with his issues eventually, and maybe his boss will get what he deserves.\\
And this leads us to the next WMG...

[[WMG: 2/3 - The bad endings aren't canon because...]]
[[FridgeHorror ... those were actually the fate suffered]] [[KillEmAll by everyone else in the building.]] The only one who escaped that fate was [[KarmaHoudini the one who deserved it the least: Stanley's boss.]]\\
Therefore, the narrator is...

[[WMG: 3/3 - The narrator is Stanley's own mind.]]
FreemansMind jokes aside, well, yeah, it is. Because all the past years of Stan monitoring the other employees, their mistakes (see the previous "2/3" WMG) developed in Stan a strong common sense, eventually evolving into a voice in his head - the narrator. Said narrator told Stanley what to do in order to avoid [[ViolationOfCommonSense the same mistakes made by the others,]] which is why the narrator [[WhatTheHellHero calls Stan out]] on disobeying his instructions.
Of course, playthroughs in which players go OffTheRails may be either be interpreted as a ViolationOfCommonSense or as Stanley simply forgetting what he learned by watching his former colleagues. Similarly, the narrator getting more and more upset (as well as the "room without textures", and everything that ensues) is a metaphor for Stanley going crazy due to his escape not going as planned.

[[WMG: Stanley proceeded to head home to his computer.]]
At which point, finding it impossible to entirely kick his habit of pressing buttons, he proceeded to dawdle on the internet rather than doing something useful with his time. Eventually, he ended up reading about himself, and, finally, decided to read theories regarding his experiences, ignoring that he clearly hadn't learned his lesson.

[[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife And Stanley was happy.]]

[[WMG: The HD Remix is actually a sequel.]]
The narrator mentions that he's going to "correct" the story in the trailers for it.

[[WMG: The whole game is about bullying and/or other forms of abuse.]]
Hey, [[ArcWords Stanley was happy]] at his job that others would find "soul-ripping." The Narrator takes it upon himself to "help" Stanley, because he believes Stanley is being brainwashed and enslaved. If you disobey everything the Narrator says, a second narrator intervenes and calls the first one out, telling you that quitting the game entirely is the only way to beat the Narrator. [[FridgeBrilliance She's right.]] However, disobeying the Narrator at any point will piss him off and trigger a {{HannibalLecture}}. The Narrator is supposed to be a godlike being who can warp reality for you, but in reality he's just a dick who is, in fact, brainwashing you. The "Golden Ending" is the result of your bending to his brainwashing and gaslighting, but you never find out just why your co-workers and boss are gone and what the machine is for. Stanley is only happy because the Narrator says he is, and the Narrator just bails on the story there. That's a blatant example of abuse and manipulation.