The impact of social support on job stress of shift working mothers: a study of casino employees in Macao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory understanding of the impact of social support on job stress of shift working mothers in Macao casinos. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research method was adopted in this study. A snowball sampling strategy was used to recruit participants, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted on participants from different casinos of six Macao gaming operators. Findings The paper found out that emotional and instrumental supports from families and friends are the most important social support for shift working mothers to cope with their job stress in casinos. Research limitations/implications A qualitative method may lead to a misinterpretation or ignorance of key information due to the researcher bias. The snowball sampling strategy may lead to a biased sample which may not represent the entire population. Originality/value The understanding of what types of social support that shift working mothers appreciate and need the most may provide managerial implications for casino operators for a better support to their female employees.