Gaming workers’ job insecurity decreased by 7.61 percent compared to the COVID-19 pandemic year in 2021, but the index of emotional exhaustion at work increased by 12.31 percent, and physical and mental adjustment problems surged by 24.15 percent, reflecting the psychological challenges posed by the industry’s restructuring, Macau Gaming Industry Employees Home senior member Pak Kin Pong said yesterday.
The Macau Gaming Industry Employees Home, a trade union for those working in the gaming sector, held a press conference yesterday about its 2024 annual services report, releasing the results of the survey on gaming workers’ mental status and the influencing factors.
The survey was carried from May 12 to June 11, when the association collected 1,182 valid questionnaires from current gaming workers aged between 30 and 49, of whom 445 were male and 737 were female, according to the press conference.
Findings of the survey found that frequent night shifts were a factor that exacerbated physical and mental adjustment problems, reduced perceived social support and the length of time spent participating in various types of leisure activities, adding that most of the respondents did not have a habit of exercising, reflecting that the promotion of sport for all still needed to be strengthened.
The centre has provided counselling services to 229 people, the unionists noted during the press conference, who pointed out that about 66.44 percent of the cases were work related issues and challenges in finding a job, followed by psychological and emotional problems, which stood at 15.38 percent, and gambling disorders, which amounted to 6.29 percent of the cases, according to Pak.
Pak said that while most of the gaming workers expressed optimism about the industry, the union has also received feedback from a number of employees that they are under psychological and emotional pressure due to the upgrading of electronic equipment, increase in the number of gamblers, and tightening of disciplinary controls, which have resulted in varying degrees of physical and psychological burdens on them.
Pak pointed out that the union will strengthen public awareness of the “principle of proactive management of work-related issues”, with the aim of encouraging gaming industry employees to make use of professional counselling services to resolve workplace problems.
At the same time, the unionist also said they were planning to launch a “Reference Manual on Supporting People Disturbed by Gambling” in the middle of this year, so as to enhance the effectiveness of the prevention and treatment of gambling disorders. They also said their organisation would also continue to enhance its regular services, including counselling and crisis management, so as to facilitate employees’ physical and psychological work adjustments and also to promote the industry’s healthy development.
Macau Gaming Industry Employees Home senior member Pak Kin Pong (left), the trade union’s Chairman Leong Sun Iok (centre) and President Lou Io Wa look on during yesterday’s press conference about their 2024 annual services report at its headquarters in Mei Lam Garden Building. – Photo courtesy of TDM
