GGRAsia – Macau casino workers lag in job satisfaction, lead in stress

Macau casino workers lag in job satisfaction, lead in stress

Nov 06, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Casino workers display the lowest job satisfaction in Macau, a new survey shows. But they lead in terms of job-related stress.

The data refer to 2013 and is included in the inaugural Macau Human Resources Monitor Survey, conducted by the Tourism Research Centre at the city’s Institute for Tourism Studies. A total of 1,046 workers were surveyed.

A portion of the survey’s findings were disclosed yesterday at a briefing session for human resources professionals.

The results showed that job satisfaction in Macau’s casino and gaming industry stood at 3.41 points in a five-point scale, with five indicating strong job satisfaction. Market-wide for all industries, job satisfaction stood at 3.66 points.

Labour issues – relating to shortage of manpower supply, wage demands and subsequent higher costs – are putting pressure on Macau’s casino operators. Firms are competing for new workers and offering better terms to the experienced ones they already have, in preparation for the big Cotai resort openings described in company filings as taking place between 2015 and 2017.

Although lagging behind other industries in Macau, job satisfaction in the casino and gaming sector was above the satisfaction scale mid-point of 3.00 points, noted Don Dioko, the head of the Tourism Research Centre.

“One characteristic of the gaming and casino sector is that it is the biggest employer of shift work. That, I believe, is one of the biggest factors [impacting job satisfaction] and it appears in our data,” Mr Dioko told GGRAsia. “There are a lot of ways in which the government and the industry can sit down together and approach this,” he added.

Gaming directly employs one in five workers in Macau.

Casino and gaming employees also reported the lowest intention to stay with their current employers, the data showed. The figure stood at 3.11 points in 2013, below the global average of 3.32 points in a five-point scale, with five indicating high intention to stay.

The employee turnover rate in the gaming sector stood at 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2014, the latest data from the government’s Statistics and Census Service show.

Civil servants in Macau showed the highest intent-to-stay levels, according to the survey findings.

Stressed out

Gaming does lead when it comes to job stress. Workers surveyed reported average levels of 3.01 points in a five-point scale, above the market average of 2.78 points.

Casino and gaming employees’ perception of the fairness of their compensation and benefit package was slightly below the global average – 3.32 points versus 3.39 points.

Data from the Statistics and Census Service suggest gaming sector pay is better than that for most other industries in Macau. Median monthly employment earnings of those engaged in gaming amounted to MOP17,000 (US$2,128) during the third quarter of 2014; 31 percent above the market-wide median of MOP13,000.

Some Macau gaming labour groups are however not satisfied with the wage levels in the sector. They have organised several worker protests since July on issues linked to pay and working conditions in the Macau casino industry.

Mr Dioko said the Tourism Research Centre now plans to update the Macau Human Resources Monitor Survey data twice a year.