The best way to combat passive aggression is to maintain your sense of humour, as laughter is the most reliable filter for others' intentions. It does make enem

The best way to combat passive aggression is to maintain your sense of humour, as laughter is the most reliable filter for others' intentions. It does make enemies though because in misrepresenting their intentions, liars can't laugh freely with someone they're lying to. They won't forgive you for catching them out, and they may lash out from behind the glass or strain against collar of the fictions they have to sustain, but you don't lose much of value. Unfortunately passive aggression is a virus and once you let it into your organization's culture, you have to fire people to get rid of it. I've watched the transition from small company to mid-size one a few times, and it starts with the appointment of a manager who uses or tolerates it, then encourages it in their key subordinates. Within a quarter or two, everyone is trying to figure out why their jobs suck and how others became such a see-you-next-tuesdays. The popular and likeable talent flames out and rage quits, managers who people had actual loyalty for get recruited away, and what's left are gatekeepers and scammers who churn through increasingly jr. and desperate staff until the company gets sold for parts in an acquihire, or languishes as a farm team in some shitty private equity portfolio for a stream of feckless MBA hires to do time in. Develop a personal playbook for handling passive aggression the way people handle sales objections, and practice it, and you will have much better companies for much longer, imo.