Working conditions are a product of three variables:

Employee supply * employer demand * legal regulations

If supply and demand aren't going to change in your industry... expecting conditions to change is a long wait for a bus that's not coming.

That's great and all, but that's still extremely evil.

Right, but, capitalism. The only ways to change the behaviour of companies is either legally mandating them to do something (which has a decent hit rate), or starving them of employees willing to put up with their shit.

Nothing else works. Evil would be the word we would use to describe a person behaving as amorally as companies are expected to behave.

Those are not the only two options.

It's pretty pragmatic advice- there are things that are entirely in your control, partially in your control, and not in your control at all. It's far easier to leave a sick system than to pour in energy to change it

Unfortunately, it's pragmatic to prepare for companies to be evil.