Stirring the Pot:

Divided We Fall

Jim Ellis | Contributing Editor

It’s sad how many transportation departments, even those with good drivers and decent safety records, seem to have a black cloud hanging over them: drivers divided into warring factions; distrust and paranoia in the break room; a nuclear-powered rumor mill.

Of course most workplaces are subject to petty disputes among employees from time to time. It’s only human nature that people who work together day after day won’t always get along with each other. And within any group of people there will always be a few individuals who seem to thrive on negativity.

That being said, it’s hard to dispell the feeling that bus garages are particularly prone to unhealed emotional wounds and cliques. Maybe it’s the diesel fumes, but that’s an entirely different article. Whatever the reason, there’s little question that low employee morale in turn creates other serious problems. Drivers who are obsessed with what their co-workers are saying about them, for instance, cannot be as focused as they should be on the unforgiving task of driving a school bus. In my experience unhappy school bus drivers are like ticking time bombs. Sooner or later something’s going to blow.

I’m also convinced low morale has a significant negative impact on recruitment. For an industry already having serious difficulty attracting new drivers we can ill afford a reputation for an mean-spirited workplace environment. When the buzz in the local diner is about drivers stabbing each other in the back down at the bus garage, it’s little wonder people aren’t knocking down our doors to apply for a job.

It’s tempting to blame the lack of esprit d’corps in a troubled operation on frontline staff — drivers, attendants, and mechanics. Most supervisors have had occasion to ask themselves questions like the following: “Why can’t they just grow up and treat each other with civility and respect?” “Why can’t they practice a little forgiveness of ancient slights?” “Why can’t they stop passing along idiotic gossip about each other?”

But establishing a supportive and positive workplace environment is a management responsibility. I have seen far too many situations where bad blood among the drivers was the result of unprofessional management. Being a supervisor is not an easy job. Under pressure from many sides, it’s not hard to fall into some critical mistakes that wind up eroding employee morale and creating a degrading atmosphere in the department.

Probably the most common mistake of this nature I’ve seen supervisors make is failing to treat all employees with absolute, uncompromising equality. This is usually because certain drivers (or attendants or mechanics) simply drive the supervisor nuts. An inability to control one’s emotional disgust with a particularly irritating employee is to some extent understandable. For a frustrated (and sometimes isolated) supervisor, it can feel good to vent with other employees who are also irritated by this individual’s personality. But there is a long-term price to pay for letting one’s guard down in this fashion.

I’ve known supervisors who deliberately treat employees inconsistently, as a means of keeping them stirred up and at odds with one another rather than raising more substantial issues. This is a pretty pathetic management tactic, and in terms of maintaining a cooperative safety-conscious climate within the department it’s lethal. A bullying supervisor creates bullies within the staff.

Another management “mistake” with long-term destructive consequences for staff morale is when a supervisor has an affair with an employee. Unfortunately, these dicey situations are far from rare. I have seen bus garages set into a negative tailspin for years by a supervisor’s lapse of judgment in this regard. Once management’s integrity is so radically compromised, every personality conflict and disagreement among the staff has the potential to be linger long beyond its natural life; the potential to be amplifed manyfold.

Pupil transportation is already challenging enough. Every school bus driver and attendant, even the “different” ones, is important. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to model fairness and self-control. Whenever any transportation employee is treated with anything less than respect and dignity, we all lose.

Ellis is the transportation director for Moravia (N.Y.) Central School District. He can be contacted at elsink@adelphia.net. All reprint requests should be addressed to School Transportation News.

Source: School Transportation News, July 2006. All rights reserved.