Employees perform their best in a rewarding and encouraging environment. Bullying and harassment in the workplace by a supervisor or a manager is never a good approach for sustained positive results.

A lot of managers and/or supervisors have this misconception that the only way to get employees to work hard and produce results is to control them with bullying and harassment. They may have some success with a few employees, but for a vast majority of employees this approach simply does not work. Making employees feel bad about themselves do not typically make them work harder or make them more productive.

All employees are aware that they get paid because of the work they do. It is not difficult for them to understand that if their performance is not satisfactory, there may be some consequences. It is the job of a manager to help each employee reach his or her potential through an appropriate supportive approach. It is important to have frequent communications with the employees so the manager can truly understand the problems faced by the different employees and then provide appropriate assistance so the employees can succeed. There can always be a few employees who simply do not want to work hard and perform well. But most employees want to do a good job and want to succeed for the company they are working for. If the managers can help them in a supportive manner (rather than in an abusive manner) most employees will succeed and that will only make the company more successful.

Many schools around the country have started educating all students about the role of bystanders in prevention of bullying. This is an extremely important program that should be implemented by all schools.

Bystanders can play a significant role either in promoting bullying or in preventing bullying. In my own situation, one of the worst bullies had described to me (later in adulthood) that he was not getting the support and recognition within the school community that he would have liked. So he turned to bullying because he noticed that people laughed and encouraged his actions, thereby improving his self-esteem, and he felt that he then had a recognized place in the school community. He was then known for “something” instead of just another insignificant kid in the school community.

This revealing discussion clearly indicates the significant role a bystander can have in encouraging bullying. In fact, even if the bystander does not laugh or visibly encourage the actions, just by being there and witnessing it and not saying anything causes the bully to continue his/her irresponsible behavior. Of course it would be best if a bystander can step in and try to prevent the negative behavior – but as a minimum a bystander must not laugh or encourage the actions and should simply go away from the area and report it to the school authorities.

The overall impact of bullying will not be as serious if the bystanders do not encourage the actions of the bully. That is why it is so important for all school children to learn that bystanders do play a significant role in prevention of bullying.

If a company does not do anything to appropriately investigate and follow through on complaints of bullying and harassment at the workplace, then it is creating a negative work environment that can be harmful to the company in many different ways.

If an employee complains about one or more incidents of workplace bullying and harassment, and the company does not do any kind of honest investigation or follow through, then they will have an unhappy employee, and that is how a negative work environment starts to develop.  With one or more unhappy employees productivity eventually suffers and that can impact the company negatively.

The company can of course choose to terminate the employee who had put in the complaint. But then again, a sudden departure of an employee is not a morale booster. Also, word will be out that the employee was fired because of the complaints he or she had made regarding bullying and harassment in the workplace. That can also tarnish the reputation of the company.

In addition the company may have to face a wrongful termination lawsuit, which could be expensive for the company. It is true that companies can terminate any employees at will, without having to give any reasons for why the employee was terminated. But if there is documentation available showing the history of complaints followed by lack of any reasonable actions by the company, then there is a reasonable chance that the company might lose the lawsuit. That is exactly what happened in my case that I describe in my book “How to stand up to workplace bullying and take on an unjust employer.” I fought back against the company after being terminated and won my case.

After speaking with many people across the country I am of the opinion that being bullied on a consistent basis causes mental health issues for most victims. Some lucky ones might be able to get away with minimal impact, but many others suffer long lasting impact.

It is clear that bullying has a significant impact on the psyche of a person. It consistently attacks the self-image of the victim. The bully exerts control over the victim and makes him/her feel terrible about themselves. On top of that, quite often, there are bystanders who laugh at these incidents, providing more fuel to the fire. When bystanders either laugh and encourage or don’t do anything at all, the bullies feel supported and continue their bad behavior.

In situations like these, the victims badly need support from school officials who are typically right there at the schools when the bullying takes place. The victims need support right then and there. School officials must intervene and find a way to stop the bullying as soon as possible. And then, the school officials must provide support to the victims so they are not left alone to face the impact of these incidents all by themselves. If school mental health staff (such as psychologists and social workers) can work with the victims at times like these, then it is possible that the eventual mental health impact on the victims will not be as severe.

School officials must also work with the bullies to help them address their own issues and get them to discontinue their bullying behavior. Quite often, bullies have their own issues at home that play out with them acting out as bullies at schools. If they too get appropriate and timely help, schools can eventually eliminate bullying.

No organizations should be allowed to ignore complaints of workplace bullying by any employees. Each and every complaint must be investigated thoroughly and an appropriate plan of action must be implemented.

It is extremely important for an organization to maintain a serious approach when dealing with bullying or harassment in the workplace. A company needs to make it clear to all its employees that workplace bullying and/or harassment will not be tolerated. And then, it needs to set up a written and published policy about how complaints of this nature will be handled. This policy should specify how each and every complaint will be investigated and how the results of the investigation will be communicated and acted upon.

For example, if an employee puts in a complaint of bullying/harassment in the workplace, it will then be very important for the company to conduct a thorough investigation, as per the company policy, and then communicate and take appropriate actions. It might turn out that the complaint was simply a misunderstanding – but even then it is important for the company to maintain appropriate records and communicate with the individuals concerned. In case it turns out to be a valid complaint, then an action plan needs to be established and communicated to the appropriate individuals. The resulting plans may include various levels of actions such as improved communication plans, better training, reassignment of individuals, etc, or even disciplinary actions if appropriate.

The bottom line is that if a company (small or large) has a well-established process and follows through appropriately, then it will likely have a satisfied set of employees and consequently better overall performance.

I met many children around the country who were eager to talk to me about their mental health issues.  This was an encouraging sign. I have tried my best to make sure school staff are able to follow up with parents to provide appropriate professional help.

Young children are often not able to express how they might be feeling. Children in middle schools or in high schools, often know that something is not right, but they worry about the stigma and decide not to disclose their issues to adults around them. I had experienced the same thing myself. My OCD started when I was 16 years old, but I kept it hidden from everyone until I was 21. That simply delayed the start of my treatment by 5 years.

That is why it is quite encouraging when some children come up to me and share their issues with me. This typically happens soon after one of my presentations. After listening to me they realize that there is no stigma attached to discussing openly about mental health issues and receive appropriate treatment as necessary. Also, they realize that if they share their issues with me, they will not be judged.

Anytime a child has come up to me and talked to me about his or her issues, I always made sure that some adults around them (such as school staff) are aware of the issues so they can work with the parents to check this out for the child. Most children feel relieved when they know that their issues are out in the open, in the hands of caring adults who will not judge them for these issues. I know I felt tremendous relief when I finally opened up and found that everything would be fine – it’s just an illness that needed to be treated.

Sustained bullying often triggers various mental health disorders for the victims. These can result in significant issues for the future of the victims. No child deserves this. That is one of the main reasons why bullying must be prevented.

The main purpose of bullying is to exert control over another individual, and in the process, make that individual feel horrible about himself or herself. Especially when a person is being bullied with a number of bystanders watching and laughing, it has a significant negative impact on the victim’s self-esteem. If this kind of blow to the self-esteem happens on a regular basis, then it is easy to see why and how this can trigger mental health disorders for the victims.

Now that I have spoken at numerous events in different states around the country, I have had the opportunity to meet many victims of childhood bullying. In a significant number of cases, the victims have described having to deal with severe mental health disorders triggered because of being bullied. And often it changes the course of a person’s life like it did in my case. I have met some grown-up adults, in their forties or fifties, still feeling the negative impact of childhood bullying.

More and more schools are providing appropriate trainings to their staff members about this matter. This is extremely important because some of these mental health disorders can start impacting children at a very young age. If school staff are appropriately trained, then it is possible that they might be able to detect some of these issues while the victims are still young. If these children are treated properly at an early age, we can hope that the negative impact on their lives will not be as significant.

There are times when employees have to deal with some stressful situations at their workplaces just because of the kind of work they do. They do not need any additional bullying and/or harassment from their managers or supervisors.

Most employees face some level of stress almost every day as they carry out their day-to-day activities at the workplace. Whether one is working in a restaurant or in a department store or in a hospital or in a bank or whatever the workplace might be, there is always some level of stress that one has to deal with on a regular basis. That is part of the job. The stress levels are of course different depending on the work setting and the level of a person’s position at the workplace, but no matter what, everyone faces some level of work stress on a regular basis. That is why it is important that there are no other additional stresses imposed on the employees.

In fact, it is a manager’s or a supervisor’s responsibility to make sure that they are providing the appropriate level of support to the employees so they are able to manage their work stress. Instead, if the employees receive bullying and/or harassment from their managers and supervisors, it only adds to the employees’ stress level. These situations will most likely lead to significant personal issues for the employees, specifically in terms of their mental health.

In summary, it is important for all managers and supervisors to understand that it is their responsibility to maintain a positive and supportive workplace so the employees can perform their tasks with minimum amount of stress.

Whenever I make a presentation based on my first book I get an opportunity to focus on both anti-bullying as well as mental health issues. I found it very effective in removing mental health stigma especially for school age children, which I believe is very important.

During the presentation I talk about my struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and how I persevered to take back control of my life. Here are some of the facts I talk about:

• My most crippling OCD symptoms consisted of my mentally picturing images of bullies who had tormented me in the past. These images would soon become further attached with an unspeakable irrational fear… that they would force me to hurt my loved ones if the images were not ‘neutralized.’

• For the first five years of my mental illness, my single greatest struggle and obstacle became simply telling someone what was going on. However, I was finally able to discuss this openly and got started with the therapy and medication that I needed to defeat OCD.  At last, I was able to change my pessimistic perspective, willingly engage in cognitive behavioral therapy and begin to make significant progress with my illness.  Eventually, I was able to derive a lasting positive impact after spending only 16 days in Rogers inpatient treatment facility.

• Today, I am thrilled to report that I have finally regained control over my once ever so incapacitating mental illness! Though my ordeal has now reached this much better point, there are millions of others out there who continue to struggle hard with similar issues on a daily basis. I am here to tell those fellow sufferers that this does not have to be their long-term fate. Just as I took back control of my life, they too are capable of freeing themselves from the powerful clutches of this or similar mental health issues.

Owners and managers who bully and harass their employees at work, have convinced themselves that there is no other way to get their employees to work their hardest. They need to understand that there are better ways to motivate employees for optimum performance.

In the true story I describe in my book titled “How to stand up to workplace bullying and take on an unjust employer”, it appeared to me that my supervisor simply did not seem to know of any other way of supervising. I felt that she was yelling at me whenever she was trying to talk to me about anything. Whenever she talked to me I felt that I was doing something wrong even when I knew for sure that I was not doing anything wrong. For some reasons she had accepted this notion that in order to supervise employees, she needed to yell almost all the time.

Organizations need to provide appropriate training to these managers and supervisors so they can maintain a positive and rewarding environment. And if, after appropriate training, some managers and supervisors are not able to change their approach, then they need to be removed from supervisory positions and placed in other non-supervisory positions. These are the two steps many organizations are not able to take. They often don’t provide appropriate training, or they do not try to find appropriate non-supervisory positions for the people who are not able to change their harassing and yelling approach even after receiving proper training. It is important for all organizations to keep in mind that maintaining a bully-free atmosphere is a key to overall success.