Stress has become a part and parcel of human life affecting the health of both, the employee and the organization. Though it is a negative consequence of modern living, it is not necessarily bad in and of itself. There is also a positive side to stress, called eu-stress generating healthy and constructive responses to stress. This article highlights the positive impact of stress in our life and on the level of performance at work. It reveals that optimum level of stress is required for the well-being of an individual and for the survival of an organization.

The term `stress' is derived from the Latin word `Stringere', which means `to be drawn tight'. The concept of stress was first introduced by Hans Selye first in life sciences in 1936. Selye defined stress as, "an adaptive response to the external situation that results in physical, psychological, and/or behavioral deviation for organizational participants." Stress is an adaptive response of an individual to an external situation as a result of his/her interaction with the environment. Confronting an opportunity, constraint or demand causes stress, when the expected outcome is important and uncertain. Stress arises when there is a mismatch between an individual and his/her environment or an inability to cope with the constraints or demands encountered. Stress is inevitable in our lives. A thing or events that produce stress experience (physiological/psychological) are known as stressors and the person's physiological and psychological response to stress is known as strain. Commonly, the term stress reminds us of its negative effects. In a common man's mind, it has a negative connotation. We generally regard stress to be harmful, destructive, and detrimental that grounds various diseases or destroys happiness.

Stress is an important and increasing problem in organizations. It is a subject of interest to researchers across fields. Occupational stress is becoming increasingly globalized and affects all countries, all professions and all categories of workers, as well as families and society in general (Ahmad & Ahmad, 1992). But stress is not always negative. It also has constructive contribution, which is advantageous for organizational growth and productivity. Hans Selye has very correctly said, "To be totally without stress is to be dead." He adds, "Complete freedom from stress is death" (Selye, 1974). Stressless condition is as good as being dead, or in a dead-like state. Stressors are milestones in attainment of life goals. For successful task completion, less stress is as detrimental as excessively high stress. Stress at optimum level is always desirable and necessary. This situation can be compared to blood pressure and its role in a human being's existence. To survive and remain sufficiently active, within average range of blood pressure is essential. Rise in blood pressure beyond a certain limit or drop in blood pressure below a point signals danger. `No blood pressure at all' is also dangerous-signifies a condition of the dead. Similarly, having no stress implies no life in life and too much stress warns of a risk to life. In the absence of optimum stress, no requisite initiative to perform the task is undertaken by the individual and it is highly impossible to continue the task at hand effectively under excessively high pressure.

HRM Review Magazine, Occupational Stress, Organizational Growth, Psychological Process, Pathogenic Organisms, Organizational Level, Organizational Context, Personal and Social Resources, Organizational Participants.