*2.1. Job Demands of Accountants*

Accountancy firms are hierarchical and competitive entities to the point that several authors, such as Reference [31], believed that stress is a tool used intentionally by managers to achieve the maximum effectiveness from their subordinates in accounting firms. For example, the pressure of time improves the effectiveness of professional accountants, as Reference [32] observes, especially in the decision-making process, since it causes them to focus only on relevant information. However, work overload and time pressures, far from improving the performance of the professionals, endanger the quality of the work. The duality of effects, positive and negative, that the scientific literature has identified in relation to work overload is explained with the approach of the Arousal Theory, for which the relationship between stress and performance is U-shaped inverted, as pointed out in Reference [33]. As Reference [34] points out, the elimination of stress in accounting is a utopia, given the characteristics of this type of activity—for instance, seasonality linked to compliance with trade regulations, tight deadlines (so that customers can give timely information to the markets), tight time and monetary budgets by the increased competitiveness of the sector, the complexity of

some decisions of the audit, manipulation of information by customers. However, scientific research can provide useful tools that contribute to coping and managing stress better.

The Stress Diagnosis Survey (SDS) of Reference [35] is one of the most used tools to analyze the demands that cause greater stress to the accountants. The SDS considers two categories of stressors: Individual and organizational. Individual stress includes role conflict, role ambiguity, quantitative and qualitative overload, time pressures, responsibility, professional careers and the scope of the work. Organizational factors include internal policy, development of human resources, compensation policy, participation, underutilization, style of supervision and organizational structure [36–38].

The model of Reference [23] is a reference for some work done later in the accounting field [17,21,24]. Nevertheless, as is noted above, perhaps the theoretical framework that is more accepted to explain the influence of the employment context in the well-being of employees is the JDCS model. However, in the specific field of audit accounting, its use has been much more limited. Thus, the relationship between stressors and the quality of the work of audit under this framework is explained by Reference [39], noting that the quality of the audit work is not affected by stressful situations if it remains under control. These authors warn that the buffering effect does not occur in the first year in which a client is audited. This will manifest in successive years as experience is acquired with the customer since personal competencies are enhanced to address work that translates into less stress.

This research uses the classification of the job demands that Reference [23] discusses around three broad categories of stressors: Work overload, role conflict and role ambiguity.
