Are American workplaces gettiꩵng more toxic? N🐠ew research suggests they are.

Some 30% of employed Americans who are also seeking jobs say their coworkers are more confrontational now than just three years ago, according to an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey released Wednesday.

Almost half of the respondents said they've observed workplace gossip; nearly 40% have witnessed unprofessional communication of some sort; and about 30% say they’ve noticed coworkers avoiding working or collaborating with another employee—or even fully excluding them. About a quarter said they’ve seen colleagues take credit for someone else's work.

The press release included quotes from people who described physical altercations and senior employees bullying junior ones over credentials. More than a fifth of the people surveyed said they observed a rise in employees being "mean" to others over the past year.

What should be done? Over 60% of respondents said companies should put up signs suggesting that people simply be nice to each other; almost half of those who have experienced a toxic workplace expect their employers🗹 to do little or nothing about it.

In another, older, survey, more than a third of respondents said they would accept a pay cut to work in a less toxic environment. Meanwhile, some employees said they take matters into their own hands: As many as 44% of employees impacted by a toxic workplace say they have used vacation or personal lea﷽ve to avoid it, according to that report, and over 30% have used sick leave.