Human resources | IFT survey examines gender bias in the workplace

The Tourism Research Center at the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) held an industry briefing on November 24 and released the latest findings on one of the Center’s major research projects, the Macau Human Resource Monitor (MHRM) Survey, according to the education institution.

The MHRM Survey measures job satisfaction levels and other key human resource indicators of the territory’s general labor force, with a focus on those working in the hospitality, gaming and tourism industries.

The survey also looks at several other variables, such as; fairness (as perceived by workers) of compensation and benefits, the level of job stress and workers’ intent to stay, social wellbeing and work-life balance.

The most recent findings show that Macau workers generally feel less satisfied with their jobs, are poorly compensated, have a lower willingness to stay in their jobs and experience more stress, as the results show compared to previous years. The overall job satisfaction score for all workers is 3.38 on a 5-point scale, where 5 is the highest.

The Tourism Research Center has announced the results of two in-depth studies, one on the attitudes of Macau workers to women in managerial roles, and another on the extent of gender bias in organizations.

Using the same 5-point scale, the studies show that Macau workers scored an average of 4.79 on their attitude toward female managers. The Center notes that although this score is considered high, it falls short of that seen in other studies, “particularly from western countries.”

A special focus report on gender bias, carried out by an assistant professor at IFT, Louis Vong, examined whether having male or female superiors in the workplace could affect employees’ performance, stress and sense of job satisfaction.