Stress at work isn’t necessarily bad. In fact, there’s a term for the excitement you feel when you face a challenge that positively tests your abilities: Eustress. You’ll likely experience eustress during your first few weeks after receiving a coveted promotion.

Distress, on the other hand, can cause mental health problems that make you fear going to work. Physical health may decline, or you may suffer a workplace injury.

Stress can come in many forms, and what affects one person may not affect another. Instead of being less able to handle stress, you likely have a different skill set.

As an example, you might be a people-savvy sales specialist who’s energized by client contact but overwhelmed by paperwork. While your detail-oriented co-worker keeps your records in order, he or she is uncomfortable taking client calls.

You each have individualized strengths and vulnerabilities to stress.

The workplace can be a source of stress in many ways, whether triggered by a temperamental employee or by a strain that affects everyone. These can include:

• work demands that are incompatible with knowledge and skill set
• insufficient compensation
• lack of recognition
• excessive work volume
• inadequate growth and advancement opportunities
• boredom
• lack of control
• poor communication
• unclear expectations
• conflicting objectives
• lack of support and training
• personnel dynamics
• poor work-life balance
• safety hazards

Working together with coworkers and feeling in control of your work processes are important. These factors are cited by the World Health Organization (WHO) as factors that exacerbate other work-related stressors.