Students undergoing Chartered Accountancy (CA) articleship in India have the dual responsibility of performing full-time work as well as studying for upcoming examinations. This experience is referred to as dual workload. This mixed-methods study explored how dual workload affected Indian CA Final students' subjective well-being and perceived daily stress, as well as which coping responses they most commonly used to manage said stress. 30 CA Final students completed quantitative measures including the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ). Two participants were recruited for semi-structured interviews, which were later analysed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis. Results from quantitative measures showed clinically high levels of stress (M PSS-10 = 23.6) and overall, below-average life satisfaction (M SWLS = 17.8) within the sample. Additionally, none of the participants reported low stress levels. Emotion-focused coping was the most common coping response, followed by avoidance coping. Problem-focused coping was the least used among participants. Interview results culminated in 12 themes. Major themes include role overload, chronic psychological stress, and emotional burnout. Stress-Avoidance-Guilt Cycle, a theme unique to this experience, was also identified. Findings are discussed using organisational role stress theory, the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, and the Job Demands-Resources Model. Practical implications for the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) and CA firms are discussed.
Srishti Gupta (2026) studied this question.