Data collection

Data is collected via field survey twice a year, in June and December. Interviews take place in major transportation hubs in Macao as well as several residential areas. Respondents are selected following a systematic random sampling technique and interviews are conducted face-to-face with the help of a structured questionnaire. Interviews are conducted in either English or Chinese. Respondents are interviewed if they are permanent, non-permanent residents, or hold non-resident worker’s permit, and are employed full-time in Macao at the time of the survey. The targeted sample size every year is 1,050.

Definition, source, and measurement of key variables monitored

The following four variables are monitored yearly (since 2012). Other variables are added as needs and trends dictate, and are subject to feedback from colleagues in industry, academia, and policymakers.

Job satisfaction is measured using the JDS scale (Hackman & Oldham, 1974) and is composed of the average of three survey items: “Generally speaking, I am very satisfied with my current job”, “I am generally satisfied with the kind of work I do in my current job”, and “I frequently think of quitting my current job” (reverse coded).
Perceived fairness of compensation and benefits is measured using a two-item scale developed by Mount & Bartlett (2002). The two items are: “Compared to similar companies in my industry, I am paid fairly for the work I do,” and “Compared to similar companies in my industry, the benefits I receive at my company are fair.”
Intent-to-stay (ISS) is measured using a scale developed by Hunt, Osborn & Martin (1981) and is assessed as the average level of agreement with four survey items: “I will definitely leave this organization in the next year”, “It is very unlikely that I would ever consider leaving this company”, “If I were completely free to choose, I would prefer very much not to continue working for this organization”, and “It is very important for me to spend my career in this organization.” ISS can be considered a proxy for employee loyalty (though it has other dimensions as well) and may be able to predict short- to medium-term turnover levels at organizations.
Work stress is measured using the job stress scale (JSS) developed by Lambert, Hogan, Camp & Ventura (2006) and is assessed as the average of respondents’ level of agreement with four survey items: “A lot of time my job makes me very frustrated or angry”, “I am usually under a lot of pressure when I am at work”, “When I’m at work I often feel tense or uptight”, “I am usually calm and at ease when I am working” (reverse coded), and “There are a lot of aspects of my job that make me upset.”

Response scale

Respondents’ level of agreement is captured using a 5-point Likert scale with 5 indicating strong agreement and 1 indicating strong disagreement. The higher the score, the higher level is the job satisfaction, perceived fairness of compensation and benefits, intention to stay and job stress. All scales reported in the charts correspond to this 5-point agreement scale, unless otherwise indicated.

Survey respondents characteristics

Demographic and job characteristics of survey respondents for 2012 and 2013 are reported in the Table M1 below. All analyses undertaken and reported in the 2012 and 2013 MHRM studies are weight-adjusted following the relative distribution of workers in Macao by industry as contained in the report issued by the Statistics and Census Service of Macao SAR government.

Table M1

Survey respondent characteristics (Weighted sample)