ABSTRACT

EMPLOYEES IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, IN PARTICULAR, FACE DIFFICULT CONDITIONS SUCH AS OVERWORK, JOB SECURITY, UNDERSTAFFING, AND WORK-LIFE IMBALANCE IN TODAY'S FAST-PACED SOCIETY. BECAUSE OF THAT, EMPLOYEES IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE HIGH LEVELS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS. SEVERE CONDITIONS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS MAY NOT ONLY LEAD TO HEALTH ISSUES FOR THE EMPLOYEE BUT ALSO AFFECT THEIR WORK PERFORMANCE. IN ORDER TO GET A BETTER GRASP OF HOW OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AFFECTS THE EMPLOYEES IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN MACAU, THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS ARE: 1) WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF STRESS IN THE MACAU HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY? 2) HOW DOES THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CHANGE THE PERCEPTION OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG EMPLOYEES IN THE MACAU HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY? HOW DO THE COMPANIES HELP THE EMPLOYEES IN THE MACAU HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY COPE WITH OCCUPATIONAL STRESS? HAVE BEEN FORMULATED. SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED WITH ELEVEN PARTICIPANTS WORKING IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, WITH A MEDIAN AGE OF 39 YEARS AND A MEDIAN RANGE OF 13 YEARS. BASED ON THESE INTERVIEWS, PARTICIPANTS EXPRESSED THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS UNDER THE CATEGORIES OF DISTRESS AND EUSTRESS, WHILE CODING SCHEMES WERE APPLIED TO ALL SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS. THE RESULTS ON DISTRESS SHOWED THAT REACTIONS FROM EMPLOYEES AND THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS, IN PARTICULAR, WERE THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, WHILE MOTIVATION HELPED PEOPLE GROW AND DEVELOP THEIR CONFIDENCE. FOR THE CHANGES IN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, MENTAL REACTIONS FROM EMPLOYEES WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DETERMINANT OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN THE MACAU HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY DURING THE CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PANDEMIC IN THESE YEARS, CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY EMPLOYEE JOB INSECURITY. IN ORDER TO COPE WITH OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, EMPLOYEES SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COPING WITH THEIR STRESS, BUT EMPLOYERS ALSO HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS PROCESS, LIKE PROVIDING GOOD COMMUNICATIONS AND PROACTIVE ASSISTANCE TO THE EMPLOYEES. FINALLY, EMPLOYEES' RESPONSES WERE DESCRIBED AS MORE NEGATIVE AS A RESULT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE. FURTHER RESEARCH COULD FOCUS ON MORE METHODS FOR EMPLOYEES TO COPE WITH OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WAYS