If you spend any time in the professional workforce, you’re almost sure to encounter one: someone whose volcanic temper, grating insults, petty office politics, or general all-around unpleasantness makes every interaction with them a frustrating, humiliating exercise and leaves coworkers and subordinates alike wondering how this jerk still has a job. More often than not, the excuses given echo ones like "he always makes his numbers" or “she gets the job done.” But increasingly, studies show that tolerating these abusive employees and bosses is an unwise and narrow-minded business strategy, one that can end up undermining the long-term health of your company.

Just how widespread is this epidemic? A recent OfficeTeam survey found that 29% of office workers had encountered a rude or unprofessional coworker or supervisor. Perhaps even more ominously, 23% said that their bosses were ineffective at dealing with this type of boorish behavior. “Most employees will encounter an unpleasant colleague at some point,” concludes OfficeTeam executive director Diane Domeyer. “How they interact with these coworkers can affect their careers.”

However, the survey also found that an overwhelming majority of employees— more than 75%—had little patience for keeping these abusive colleagues around, even if they were perceived as good at their jobs. While older and younger workers were more tolerant, it’s notable that those who have both spent an ample amount of time in the workplace and still have decades yet to go before retirement showed the least amount of interest in letting unpleasant peers or bosses affect their careers.

"Like it or not—[this] is consistent with a huge body of research on justice and fairness in the workplace,” writes Robert Sutton on his business blog “Work Matters.” Sutton, a management science professor at Stanford’s Engineering School, notes that abusive bosses, in particular, can exact a hidden toll on their company’s morale and productivity.

In fact, a recent Florida State University survey discovered strikingly higher rates of underperformance among employees of abusive bosses than in the general worker population: 30% slowed down or purposely made errors (compared with 6% of those not reporting abuse), 27% purposely hid from the boss (compared with 4%), 33% confessed to not putting in maximum effort (9% normally), 29% took sick time off even when not ill (4% normally), and 25% took more or longer breaks (7% normally). Additionally, study researchers Wayne Hochwarter and Samantha Engelhardt found that employees were three times more likely to approach a respectful supervisor with ideas about helping the company. “If organizations would simply spend much more time addressing issues that relate to trust and communication, then a lot of this would get resolved,” Hochwarter notes in a companion study on bad workplace behavior. Indeed, several studies have now confirmed that companies that do a better job of “engaging” their employees—quickly remedying cases of workplace abuse and disrespect and giving them more say over business decisions and work schedules— have been found to have increased overall productivity and long-term success. In the end, all these numbers make a compelling business case—life’s too short to work with jerks.