There are bad reasons to quit a company and good ones, but there are few better ways to make an exit than on the spot when the CEO of your company personally and publicly berates a low-level employee in front of the team.
I remember a time 10 years ago when a flight attendant harassed a person behind me unfairly. I regret not standing up for that person.
Don't be a bystander - do the right thing!
There are other factors too. Maybe you have a unique skillset and it takes some time to find similar employment, maybe you stay for family reasons, or for a (probably misguided) sense of loyalty to the team. In my last relevant personal experience, it was obviously a hostile work environment fairly early on but I had made an informal commitment to stay on for X amount of time when I joined.
Abusive managers often actually score big wins in short order and garner favor from higher management, but inevitably we see those managers burn out the systems they build and the systems around them. Employees start bouncing out at an accelerating pace and it's a compounding effect usually because an already overtaxed team is now smaller and has to pick up the slack of the departed.
It usually ends badly.
Which of course factors back into the decision not to make a public display of an exit -- karma usually finds a way to sort these things out.
I think it's probably the case that a lot of these managers are completely oblivious to their actions. I had one manager who proudly claimed (to the team) knowledge of sneaky political tactics and posted articles on fb about Machiavelli and corporate tactics for grabbing and wielding power. It's quite an awkward thing to watch and they're usually not fooling anybody.
Being an absolutist many times can lead to you only feeling smugly superior while not really making a difference.
The bridge is already burned with the CEO, and your unlikely to burn the bridge any worse with your direct boss/coworkers by quiting immediately versus a few days/a week later. Might actually gain some respect from them which could net you a job later down the line at another firm one of your coworkers ends up at!
That being said, its all corporate politics, so it is hard to derisk it, and you should try to be aware of as much of the political situation as possible before making a move.
Edit: added last paragraph to clarify.
If you've made up your mind, you can just tell them off and walk out. You can take your sweet time and interview while you still have a paycheck and benefits. You can wait until the cliff and leave the next day. You can give two weeks notice.
It's your choice just as it's their choice.
CEO is a woman.
CEO is a woman.
Letting a bad relationship hang on is just bad for my health, I gain a ton of weight and stress!