A corporate workshop in progress to make employees aware of the need to manage stress. A Telegraph picture

Getting stressed out is no longer worn as a badge of honour in the corporate world.

It may have been the done thing some time ago, but as business groups have understood, increasing stress levels hamper work and productivity in the long run.

?Our everyday lives are changing, along with the fast pace of the city that has made a comeback with a bang. Things like IT revolution, BPO boom, retail mania have all led to changing lifestyles and also to an alarming rise of stress among Calcuttans, causing widespread problems. Which is why we have been advising everybody that de-stressing holds the key to healthy living,? explains cardiologist Tarun Praharaj.

To address the problem, organisations like Round Table and Merchant Chamber of Commerce have started organising workshops on stress management. The objective of the workshops is to create awareness among company leaders that the ?flawed philosophy? of more stress at workplace only leads to lost productivity in the long run.

In one of the recent workshops organised by Park Street Round Table No. 34 on positive attitude development and stress management, management consultant and motivator Ajay Agarwal explained the importance of reducing work pressure. Issues like how learning to cope with stress better helps in improving human relations and effectiveness were discussed.

?One has to learn how to reduce stress levels or when maximum stress is part of the job profile, learn to cope with it in a much better way,? said Agarwal. Participants in the stress management workshop included companies like Tropicana Exports, Coffee Pai and Dolphin Leather, among others.

Stress is the result of the ?wear and tear? human bodies experience as they adjust to the continually-changing environment. It has physical and emotional effects on human beings and can create positive or negative feelings.

As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to act. It can result in a new awareness and an exciting fresh perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which is not good for either health or body, said health experts.

Doctors say that negative thoughts can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

?With the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship, we experience stress as we readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder us depending on how we react to it,? says Suchita Bhaumik , a city-based cardiologist.

Several chief executive officers of companies participated in another workshop organised by the Merchant Chamber of Commerce, where the company heads were told how lowering stress levels could actually improve performance.

?Among the participants whom I addressed and in generic terms, the stress level is quite high and steadily rising,? added Agarwal.