Macau casino staff ‘moderately exhausted’: study

May 15, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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A study published last month warns that casino employees in Macau are moderately exhausted.

The study (see link here – subscription needed) says that close to 40 percent of the casino staff working in the industry for less than five years wants to quit in the next six to 12 months. One of the main reasons is burnout, which was found to negatively impact job satisfaction, Macau-based newspaper Ponto Final reports.

The study was conducted by Joanne Chan Sow Hup and Kim Kuok Oi Mei from the University of Macau, and Penny Wan Yim King from the Institute for Tourism Studies. It is available on the online edition of the Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management.

The results are based on surveys with 391 employees from six major casinos in Macau.

The three researchers say casino managers should pay more attention to work stress experienced by all casino employees, not just dealers, reduce workloads and improve rota planning.

Macau casinos employed close to 56,000 people at the end of last year, official data show.

Employee turnover levels in the gaming industry have dropped significantly from 2010 but remain high. During the fourth quarter of last year, 4.2 percent of the workers in the sector left their employer.

Estimates differ on how many workers will be needed to staff the seven casino projects under construction in Cotai. Some estimates say Macau’s gaming workforce will have to increase by over one third. Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd has said it will need 8,000 new employees for its Studio City project, opening in mid-2015.

Some analysts question the ability of Macau to meet the quantity and quality labour demands that the second wave of casino-resort development in Cotai will create.

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