Macau gaming employees are less satisfied with their work conditions, albeit more confident regarding job opportunities, indicates the Employee Confidence and Satisfaction Index compiled by the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST).
The gaming workers satisfaction index stood at 3.17 points in the survey conducted this year, down 2.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the findings published on Wednesday, reported Portuguese-language newspaper Jornal Tribuna de Macau. The index is measured in a scale from 0 to 5 points.
According to the report, one of the main drags in this year’s index was sentiment regarding career development, which fell by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Gaming workers were also less satisfied with, respectively, the content of their work, treatment in the workplace, and workplace stability, down on the prior-year by respectively 3.5 percent, 2.5 percent and 1.5 percent.
In contrast, the confidence index among gaming workers in this year’s survey grew by 3.7 percent year-on-year, to 3.03 points. Workers surveyed said they were more optimistic about job opportunities, with that sub-index recording a 7.4-percent increase compared to a year ago.
The confidence index among the city’s casino dealers, in particular, showed an increase of 5.9 percent in year-on-year terms. Their satisfaction index score however dropped by 2.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the survey.
The improvement in the confidence index among dealers reflects a better work environment in casinos, said the survey’s promoters. But the rapid industry growth seen in recent years had led to a bigger workload for dealers and more pressure, driving down the satisfaction level, they added.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, Macau’s gaming industry had a total of 57,207 full-time employees, an increase of 1.4 percent year-on-year. The figure excluded people working for VIP gambling junket promoters and junket associates.
The survey – covering several sectors of the city’s economy – was conducted by MUST’s Institute for Sustainable Development. A total of 801 people – all full-time employees – were interviewed for this year’s survey. It was not reported how many of these were gaming employees.
