Knowledge

Should I stay or should I go?

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

Satisfaction with pay is the main indication of an employee’s intention to stay with his or her employer, according to the latest report from the Macao Human Resource Monitor Project. Research found the average period spent in one job in Macao is 3.25 years. After that time, the probability of an employee leaving rises sharply.

The IFT Tourism Research Centre (ITRC) is in charge of the Macao Human Resource Monitor Project. Data are collected twice a year, in June and December, from a sample of 1,050 employees drawn from all industries. The respondents are asked about job satisfaction, how they perceive the fairness of their compensation and benefits, work stress and their intention to stay with their current employers. In each case their answers are recorded on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 indicates the lowest degree and 5 the highest.

The ITRC briefed business executives about the latest findings of the Macao Human Resource Monitor Project at a December event. During the briefing, IFT researchers Mr. Patrick Lo and Ms. Wendy Tang said all the indicators had shown improvement in year-on-year terms in 2015. In other words, employees in Macao were generally more satisfied with their jobs, felt their pay was fairer, they claimed to be suffering less stress at work and intended to stay with their current employers for longer.

The researchers said a period of economic adjustment in Macao in 2015 meant employees tended to express greater intention to stay in their jobs than a year earlier. Only workers in the food and beverage industry showed slightly less inclination to stay in their jobs in year-on-year terms.

The data show differences across industries. People working in gaming and finance were less satisfied with their jobs, felt less fairly paid, suffered more stress at work and were less inclined to stay in their jobs than people working in other industries. Similarly, people in poorly paid entry-level jobs and single people were less satisfied, felt more hard done by, and were more stressed and more tempted to leave than other workers.

The retention dimension

The latest report of the Macao Human Resource Monitor Project looked particularly closely at what makes employees inclined or disinclined to stay with their current employers. The findings were that the least loyal employees work in the hotel and resort, food and beverage, gaming and construction industries.

Another of the researchers, Dr. Louis Vong, says higher-ranking employees were more inclined to stay in their jobs than those lower down the ladder. The research also found that longer-serving employees are more amenable to staying put. “This suggests a reinforcing cycle: the longer an organisation is able to retain an employee over time, the stronger the feeling to stay on,” the report says.

Workers on shifts had a greater urge to quit than other employees, Dr. Vong says. In addition, employees that work varying shifts were more apt to leave than those that work fixed shifts.

ITRC Director Dr. Leonardo Dioko gave a presentation about what he called the “3.25-year itch”, interpreting the finding by the Macao Human Resource Monitor Project that the probability of an employee leaving rises steeply after 3.25 years in a job.

Dr. Dioko says an employee’s prospects of promotion, income and seniority influenced how long he or she remained in a job. Other influences, such as age, gender and parenthood played a role; employees under 30 years of age, women and people without children being more inclined to move on.

Dr. Dioko says it is normal for workers to seek greener pastures and that employers have to think up ways to retain staff. While mature workers tended to stay in steady jobs, youthful staff were more apt to look elsewhere. “Organisations should set in place multi-lifecycle strategies to inhibit shorter tenure, or job-shifting,” he says.

Keeping employees for longer meant offering a combination of good pay and job security, he says. “Both are essential. Increasing pay without enhancing job security, or vice-versa, may be ineffective in encouraging employees to stay longer.”

Industry views

Among the business executives that attended the ITRC briefing was Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd Senior Manager of Property Training Ms. Joyce Wong. Ms. Wong took detailed notes and says the research’s findings are helpful to the integrated resort industry. Her company regularly surveys attitudes among its own staff but appreciates the perspective on the labour market as a whole given by the Macao Human Resource Monitor Project.

MGM Macau Vice-President of Human Resources Ms. Michelle Chiu says: “This is definitely very informative because Macao’s labour market is very competitive and very mobile.” She says some of the findings were a surprise, particularly the importance of pay in employee retention. The findings might help employers improve their human resources strategies, she adds.

Wynn Palace Director of Training Mr. Timothy Millett says his integrated resort could use the findings of the survey to better prepare for the future. For example, by devising ways to counter the 3.25-year itch. “It would be interesting to find out what other factors also affect employee loyalty and how we can actually make sure, as an industry, that we’re better serving the community,” Mr. Millet says.

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