Of course I'd leave eventually, if the evil lizard people situation can't be improved. But I disagree that continuing to be a good colleague/leader (not "nice") makes the situation worse.
In that example, seems like the employee was getting the most accurate available information about what the situation was.
If I was part of a solid team, I wouldn't know when to decide "Well, we've been invaded by evil lizard people, so time to start being jerks." I'd still be all about supporting the team and its work.
Besides doing our work being the default, I'd keep in mind that some team members might not be able to flee the evil lizard people. If I went all jerk-mode, that would just compound the negatives of the overall lizard-people environment, and the consequent drop in team effectiveness might also increase risk to the livelihoods of the people who can't leave.
In that example, seems like the employee was getting the most accurate available information about what the situation was.
If I was part of a solid team, I wouldn't know when to decide "Well, we've been invaded by evil lizard people, so time to start being jerks." I'd still be all about supporting the team and its work.
Besides doing our work being the default, I'd keep in mind that some team members might not be able to flee the evil lizard people. If I went all jerk-mode, that would just compound the negatives of the overall lizard-people environment, and the consequent drop in team effectiveness might also increase risk to the livelihoods of the people who can't leave.