A bus driver wants to know why workplace bullying was never addressed

DD worked as a bus driver for seniors.

Several staff members, including one supervisor, bullied her through name-calling, ignoring her when she asked questions directly, and pushing (she was pushed into a coat closet because she wasn't moving quickly enough).

"They treated me like I didn't exist and didn't matter," she explained.

The supervisor would use her position to intimidate. "When speaking to us, she would be aggressive and condescending," she said.

Some of the power moves involved screaming at employees for taking sick time. "She would yell at us if we called in sick. I called in once in a great while. I had 420 hours of sick time, but she would still make me feel guilty for using it. Her attitude was that no matter what, we needed to be there," explained DD.

The supervisor also withheld positive feedback. "My riders would send me thank you cards, yet I never saw one in the seven and a half years I worked there. They would ask me if I received their cards," she said.

Revenge was not beneath her supervisor. "My supervisor was vindictive. When we tried to talk with her about her actions, she'd triple our workloads the next day. She said to me 'If you're not happy, go find another job,'" DD added.

DD felt angry, violated, anxious, depressed, abused, hurt, unheard, unprotected, ganged up on everyday, and tormented. She went to urgent care with pain on the left side of her neck going down to her heart due to stress from the bullying.

Her employer listened but did nothing. "Then I spoke with my legislator, and nothing has been done politically either," she explained.

"There should be repercussions in place when an employee bullies to tell employees loud and clear that there will be zero tolerance of bullying. The victims should not be the ones who get punished," DD said. "No one should ever have to put up with any type of abuse. I will never ever be the same. The physical pain will always be there as a reminder of the abuse. Where is the justice for me?"

Share your workplace bullying story. Email to [email protected] in one page along with an optional photo:

Where did you work and what did you do?
How did the bullying begin? What tactics were used?
How did you feel?
How did it escalate?
How did your employer react (or not react)?
What was the impact on you?
What was the impact on the organization?
Why do you want workplace bullying legislation to pass?
What advice do you have for others going through bullying at work?