First of all, this is not ridiculous (i.e. deserving or inviting derision or mockery). Many of us are under immense pressure to provide for our families in HCOL environments, and love our families more than ourselves. From personal experience, I can say this pressure can make you feel like you have no out -- you must take care of the ones you love or else face them living an extremely hard life. This can easily drive you to feel like there is no other option but keep on working hard to support your loved ones.
Switching jobs is no guarantee you'll escape this spiral, and switching to a lower-paying career would put you in a corner. And therein lies the dilemma -- you can't quit, but you'll die (or be extremely depressed) if you stay.
Additionally, at least in the US, the government does not provide the types of social benefits to augment the pressure of the corporate workplace.
Therefore, corporations (who are often generating millions if not billions in revenue) have a social responsibility to their workers to make sure they are operating in an environment where they feel they can succeed and provide for their families, without compromise for mental health.