Triumphing Over Workplace Bullying (Part 2)

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(Continued from Part 1…)

In the last post, I talked about how everything started out great and that I was well-liked by almost everyone. I also mentioned the incident when I responded in kind after Candi, a CNA, caught a bad attitude. Needless to say, I found out that, right or wrong, talking down to her was a no-no because she had connections.

And over several months, one by one, many people turned against me. Luckily, several of my real friends knew how Candi was and had no respect for her. They were the people who had my back, so I can say that I did have allies who took care of me.

However, there was a clear division at Shady Grove Living Center. There was the administrator, who I’ll call *Beau, *Cammie, the payroll clerk, the department heads,*Harry (who was Cammie’s husband), one maintenance guy, whose name was *Jules, and two CNAs, *Shelly was one and *Cheryl who were two flying monkeys. On our side were my supervisor Darnell, all of my coworkers (except for one suck up), a charge nurse, and the rest of the CNAs who had my back.

At first, the bullies made false reports about me to Darnell. On the days after my shift (I worked part-time in the evening), the third shift CNAs would complain that I hadn’t stocked the linen closets on each of the halls and that they had no clean bed pads, bedsheets, nor gowns for the residents who soiled their beds during the night.

But because I always thought ahead and could easily predict what these people would do, I had made sure to pull out my cellphone and take pictures of all my finished work at the end of my shift.

Once I was done stocking the linen closets, I took photos of all the  shelves inside, chock full of freshly clean linens. I then took pictures inside all the empty barrels that were marked “dirty laundry,” before clocking out and going home. And, with the time-stamps on each image, there was no question I’d done my job.

I took pictures every night, at the end of the shift. And I had proof to show Darnell every time they lied.

When that didn’t work, the bullies only turned up the harassment, as word quickly spread throughout the nursing home that I’d taken pictures of all finished work.

In a way, it was funny because each of the linen closets was directly across from a nurse’s desk, where the bullies would sit around and gossip. And I remember overhearing them make snide remarks about my camera and my taking pictures, to which I’d only snicker and chuckle to myself.

Harry, the head of maintenance, would talk pretty ugly to me, but I knew I wasn’t the only one because many times, I’d see him talk terrible to several others- even a few who worked for the nursing home. So, I didn’t feel like the Lone Ranger.

And because I’d already been a target of bullying in school, I knew what to expect as all bullies pull pretty much the same tactics, only adult bullies are much more sophisticated with it. Therefore, I was able to prepare, stay a few steps ahead, and outflank them.

During this time, I began to witness a couple of the bullies in this workplace clique commit a few illegal activities. On one instance, I worked a double shift to cover for a coworker who was sick.

Early one Saturday morning, I saw with my own eyes Harry walk into the back door of the nursing home, dressed in camouflage and his bright orange hunting vest. He crept down the hall past the laundry room, then stopped at the time clock and clocked in. Harry then filled out a bogus work order, then left.

He didn’t return until late that evening to clock out and leave again. I’ll never forget the look on his mug when he saw me sitting outside on my last break as he drove by in his shiny new pickup. And when I told a trusted friend at work a day or two later about what I’d seen, she wasn’t at all surprised.

“Girl! He’s been clocking out and going home on the weekends since I’ve been here! And I’ll tell you something else,” *Brenda told me, “Cammie’s been embezzling from this facility, and she’s been ripping off some of the residents who don’t have families- weaseling them into signing papers to leave their assets to her when they leave this world!”

I felt my eyes pop out of my head as Brenda gave me an ear full!

(Continued in Part 3…)

0 thoughts on “Triumphing Over Workplace Bullying (Part 2)

  1. Sara Flower Kjeldsen says:

    I’m so happy that you had allies through this experience, but those people were legit nutso! I’m sorry this happened, but I LOVE that you took photos proving that you did indeed do your job correctly. 😀 I look forward to reading Part 3.

  2. 80smetalman says:

    This reminds me of a time when substitute teaching. The class teacher told my agency that I had left the classroom untidy. I had no comeback at the time but ever since, I always take photos of the classroom to cover myself.

  3. Dawn Pisturino says:

    This kind of back-biting and bullying got really bad among the BH techs in the last place I worked. The techs were always complaining about being short-staffed, but then they deliberately tried to drive people out the door. I didn’t really understand it until I began examining each and very participant. In almost every case, the people involved were themselves victims of some kind of abuse or betrayal. They were unhappy with their job, unhappy with their home life, and unhappy with themselves. I even pointed out to a couple of them that they had not overcome their own feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. But their behavior made the workplace a hostile and negative place to work, and frankly, people got sick of it.

    • cheriewhite says:

      Wow! I’m sorry you had to work in such a toxic environment, but I’m glad you pointed the finger back at them. 😂🤣😂🤣 I wish I could’ve seen their faces when you pointed out “their own feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem!” Now that would’ve been a hoot! 😜

      • Dawn Pisturino says:

        They both took it amazingly well and even admitted that it was true! At least, it made them think. But then, these two were always complaining about their problems at home and adding to the negativity at work. And we all knew each other well enough to speak honestly.

        • cheriewhite says:

          That’s a good thing, Dawn, but rare that you can have a healthy conversation in a toxic work environment. I’m glad your situation was different and had a good outcome. God bless you! 💖💐🌺🌻

  4. henhouselady says:

    I hate workplace drama. I took a job everyone hated. It was one of those ugly customer service tasks where people walked into my office and yelled at me for being caught out on their bad behavior. I worked in the parking office of a university. i sold permits and process tickets. Nobody wanted to pay parking fees. Thus, they received tickets. Since i was the person sitting at the desk it was always my fault.

    • cheriewhite says:

      Wow, Molly! That was indeed a crappy job! I hope they gave you hazard pay! 😁 I can imagine that there were a few who were crazy enough to get physical! 😱😱😱

      • henhouselady says:

        Nobody ever got physical,but they came close. The worst part was often they made complaints to get ahead of what i might say. Some of these people were in positions of power. I usually got in trouble because I didn’t leave them smiling when they came out of my office. I never got an answer when i asked how i was supposed to make a person happy about getting a parking ticket.

        • cheriewhite says:

          Wow! I’m glad they didn’t get physical with you, Molly. And I’m not surprised they punished you because you didn’t leave them smiling- those types expect the rest of the world to kiss their butts. But life doesn’t work that way. 😊

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