Yet resigning is sometimes the very best response, says study author Christine Pearson. A more common one is to stay and put up with bad behavior, which can result in stress-related illnesses like depression or high blood pressure. That's not to say that there aren't some workplace whiners. You have to look past individual cases. When the rudeness is real, there are remedies.
Employees have the option of reporting the behavior, although they risk looking like troublemakers.
Even if the employee you're complaining about isn't fired, he or she may be transferred, or you may want to be transferred. Yet experts say the real power to change a company's culture lies with its management. Job seekers should ask whether managers at a prospective employer are trained to enforce respectful behavior. McClure notes that some managers don't place a priority on worker morale.