By Huzefa Mohamed, Success Columnist
Over lunch the other day, I was discussing with my friend Pascal about work and stress. He suggested the two had become so inseparable these days that with work usually come bundles of stress.

Explaining, he said if you’re not stressed at work, the perception is that you’re probably not working hard or maybe you’re not working sincerely, or worse still, you’re not working at all – just passing away your time.

My professor used to say that stress could either be good or bad. At the workplace, good stress helps improve productivity and performance. On the other hand bad stress is counter-productive because it impedes our performance.

I am very disturbed to see that the bad stress is now accepted as part and parcel of work. In the last two decades, the number of people reporting negative effects of stress at work has gone up more than five times. But, since everyone “suffers” from it, no one seems to be doing anything about it.

You need to understand the link between stress and your health. Bad stress exposes you to all kinds of illnesses – from the less serious common cold to the more severe heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes. It also leads to alcoholism, over-eating, drug addiction, smoking, depression, and other harmful behaviours.

In spite of these adverse outcomes of stress, most of us accept it as a price we must pay for survival and/or success. Is stress inevitable? Can’t we have a stress-free working environment? Can’t we enjoy our work, and experience no stress at all – good or bad? I believe you can.

De-linking your work from stress is vital for your health and happiness. According to my friend Pascal, it’s important that you spend your days doing something that you feel challenged to do, and appreciated. Without these and other key factors, you can be at risk for burnout.

The writer is a training consultant and author of ‘Winning the Battle’.  Call: 0764 162 527 or Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites