Robotic life of casino employees: exploring well-being dimensions in the gambling industry in Malaysia

Abstract

PurposeEmployee well-being in a casino work environment is crucial for the quality of work-life and employees' performance. This study examines the dimensions of well-being at a casino in Malaysia to gain deeper insights into employee challenges and motivational factors to arrive at practical mitigation efforts.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative approach involving 14 semi-structured interviews with casino employees in Malaysia. Interviews lasted 30 min to 2 h at a time when Covid-19 was raging in 2021. Responses were analysed via a data-driven approach and coded using NVivo software to delineate the contents into analytical categories of well-being dimensions.FindingsThe findings suggest that employees at the casino face challenges in achieving work-life balance. Employee's well-being suffers from insufficient break time, irregular working hours affecting family time, managing customer temper tantrums and lack of emotional support systems and remunerations altered by the pandemic. Women employees were particularly vulnerable.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest a need to create better working conditions and address well-being with counselling support for stress management, a balanced approach by employers to the “customer is always right” mantra, creating promising career pathways and supervisors to have better oversight of workaholics. The research focused only on one casino and there was limited access to management departments for an organizational perspective.Originality/valueThis study adds to the body of knowledge on employee well-being in the context of a casino. It suggests hospitality and tourism organizations review their human resource practices that would ease the stresses at the workplace and create support systems to promote employee well-being. Crucially, in a pandemic crisis, well-being dimensions must be accommodating and integrative to employee sentiments, sensitivity and self-actualization.

Looking after employees is high stakes for casinos: employee well-being in the gambling industry

“…The review is based on 'Robotic life of casino employees: exploring well-being dimensions in the gambling industry in Malaysia' by Chaichi et al (2023).…”

Academic Coverage of Social Stressors Experienced by Disabled People: A Scoping Review

“…Many studies have looked at the linkage between stress and wellbeing [77][78][79][80], and stress has been identified as decreasing well-being [81][82][83][84]. Numerous studies used social stress and well-being indices [85,86].…”