I wonder how many nervous breakdowns and divorces Merck has caused?

[Anonymous]

Imagine the stress of trying to be a head of household and
primary bread winner when your CTL is trying to get you
pushed out of the company...

Or trying to explain to your spouse, why you hate your job and
feel so stuck, trying to fight the system and make a career out
of pharmaceutical sales...(Which actually used to be a career job.)

the stress must be off the charts...throw into the mix a company
that seems to have a scorched earth policy against their very own
sales force, and you have a recipe for psychological disasters like
nervous breakdowns, etc...

Serious discussion please...Aside from the thousands of patients
whose lives have been ruined from Merck products, (Vioxx, Fosomax,
Gardasil, etc) how many employees have never been the same
after their Merck experience?

I am one of these people you describe. Your comments are on point. Sad but true.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a new view...I think it's much easier to be married. There are always two able bodies to work and make money. If you are the solo breadwinner, no cushion is available, no helping hand. Lose a job, lose health insurance, losing everything is inches away...

A much greater sense of urgency in finding work, now.
You cannot lose a minute to leisure....

 

[Anonymous]

Merck declared war on its sales force starting back in the late 90's I believe. I was working with one of Merck's "business partners" at the time and couldn't believe the strategies and tactics involved with field sales employees that had been adopted. I wasn't surprised that Merck no longer got recognized as they were in the past by their peers for being such a good company.

 

[Anonymous]

Merck declared war on its sales force starting back in the late 90's I believe. I was working with one of Merck's "business partners" at the time and couldn't believe the strategies and tactics involved with field sales employees that had been adopted. I wasn't surprised that Merck no longer got recognized as they were in the past by their peers for being such a good company.

I knew we were in trouble when Mr. Jerome (Jerry, to those of us in the field) Keller was summarily released back in the early 90's. Didn't we all who were in the field at that time??

 

[Anonymous]

The absence of common sense it what left me feeling most negative about Merck. There was always some BS to a degree with the job, but I knew I was working with people who shared common sense about things and would always do the right thing whenever pressed. That changed when the miscreants started occupying various management levels at Merck in the 90's. Merck in the 80's was a great place to work. It's been one long downhill slide since the mid-90's. That's when things were no longer making sense to me about what we were doing as a company and specifically the way field sales management had changed and metrics were all that mattered. Less and less made sense so I split and moved to real estate sales and started investing in real estate. I was able to finance an $800,000 parcel of land in 1998 that was in a next to nothing town adjacent to a college town. It's worth approximately $40,000,000 today and is my retirement program. Merck can go to hell for all I care.

Great story. However, I call bullshit on the 40 mil. 4-maybe.

 

[Anonymous]

What a highly negative post! Many people feel a sense of accomplishment after they put in a good day's work. The "only a job" workers get people in trouble.

The "only a job" Ken and Barbie dolls contribute to the train wreck. They never take ownership of anything. But they talk so importantly (of themselves) at meetings.

 

[Anonymous]

Great story. However, I call bullshit on the 40 mil. 4-maybe.

I can't fault you for calling bullshit as I would probably do the same thing after reading 40 mil. However, an adjacent parcel that is about 1/3 the size of mine was recently sold to a grocery chain for 14 million. For now I'll continue to collect $350/acre rent on it for raising corn and soybeans.

 

[Anonymous]

What a highly negative post! Many people feel a sense of accomplishment after they put in a good day's work. The "only a job" workers get people in trouble.

You are right on both points..Here's one bust yer butt worker who had that sense of pride and accomplishment in my work. Now displaced. Stuck with an "only a job" coworker who thought it was all a big game, did next to nothing all last year. Territory had one year drop and I lost my job!!!

 

[Anonymous]

You work to live and not live to work.

If you take your work troubles home and stress out about it, that's terrible...

 

[Anonymous]

Imagine the stress of trying to be a head of household and
primary bread winner when your CTL is trying to get you
pushed out of the company...

Or trying to explain to your spouse, why you hate your job and
feel so stuck, trying to fight the system and make a career out
of pharmaceutical sales...(Which actually used to be a career job.)

the stress must be off the charts...throw into the mix a company
that seems to have a scorched earth policy against their very own
sales force, and you have a recipe for psychological disasters like
nervous breakdowns, etc...

Serious discussion please...Aside from the thousands of patients
whose lives have been ruined from Merck products, (Vioxx, Fosomax,
Gardasil, etc) how many employees have never been the same
after their Merck experience?

The conflict of interest motive is alive and well also, mother owns stock in other pharm that sell psych drugs

 

[Anonymous]

You work to live and not live to work.

If you take your work troubles home and stress out about it, that's terrible...

Geez the words of someone who just seems not to get it...
Gotta take it home....and gotta feel big stress if you carry the financial load and cash flow ends!!

 

[Anonymous]

Geez the words of someone who just seems not to get it...
Gotta take it home....and gotta feel big stress if you carry the financial load and cash flow ends!!

I think the poster was referring to, despite the stress, how much you try to limit the negative impact of it on yourself and/or your family.

 

[Anonymous]

It's become an evil company. It's done terrible things to thousands of good people. It's destroyed tens of thousands of lives, including tens of thousands of children's lives and more families than any of us can fathom. And let's not forget all of those dead and damaged patients.

Am I one of the "FU Merck" crowd? You bet I am. I'd like to watch this shithole burn after what they've done to all of those people, while collecting huge salaries. Being rewarded to ruin lives---welcome to the New Merck.

FU Merck

 

[Anonymous]

It's become an evil company. It's done terrible things to thousands of good people. It's destroyed tens of thousands of lives, including tens of thousands of children's lives and more families than any of us can fathom. And let's not forget all of those dead and damaged patients.

Am I one of the "FU Merck" crowd? You bet I am. I'd like to watch this shithole burn after what they've done to all of those people, while collecting huge salaries. Being rewarded to ruin lives---welcome to the New Merck.

FU Merck

But corporations are people too. They have to look out for the BoD and shareholders. You, on the other hand, are nothing more than an expense that needs to be trimmed. Don't take it personally, it is just business.

Move on. Holding onto all that anger that you spew is not good for you.

 

[Anonymous]

It's become an evil company. It's done terrible things to thousands of good people. It's destroyed tens of thousands of lives, including tens of thousands of children's lives and more families than any of us can fathom. And let's not forget all of those dead and damaged patients.

Am I one of the "FU Merck" crowd? You bet I am. I'd like to watch this shithole burn after what they've done to all of those people, while collecting huge salaries. Being rewarded to ruin lives---welcome to the New Merck.

FU Merck

Diddo on everything.

 

[Anonymous]

But corporations are people too. They have to look out for the BoD and shareholders. You, on the other hand, are nothing more than an expense that needs to be trimmed. Don't take it personally, it is just business.

Move on. Holding onto all that anger that you spew is not good for you.

"…it is just business." Destroying lives and killing people? "Just business"?

Well, if that's what you think, then you're part of the problem. YOU are part of the New Merck, too, apparently. Good luck with that.

 

[Anonymous]

It's become an evil company. It's done terrible things to thousands of good people. It's destroyed tens of thousands of lives, including tens of thousands of children's lives and more families than any of us can fathom. And let's not forget all of those dead and damaged patients.

Am I one of the "FU Merck" crowd? You bet I am. I'd like to watch this shithole burn after what they've done to all of those people, while collecting huge salaries. Being rewarded to ruin lives---welcome to the New Merck.

FU Merck

Go and hold hands with your hero B. Hussain O - you deserve each other.

 

[Anonymous]

"…it is just business." Destroying lives and killing people? "Just business"?

Well, if that's what you think, then you're part of the problem. YOU are part of the New Merck, too, apparently. Good luck with that.

Pfizer, Parke-Davis and many other corporations were already like that 30 years ago. Merck only recently became another "Pfizer". May be 15 years ago Merck was still a more employee-centric company to work for. It has changed. Turnover used to be one of the lowest in the industry. Once they get used to seeing us as numbers and a line item we are just tools. You are wasting your time crying over it. If a woman does not love you anymore, don't hang around. Move on. There is life out there.

 

[Anonymous]

"…it is just business." Destroying lives and killing people? "Just business"?

Well, if that's what you think, then you're part of the problem. YOU are part of the New Merck, too, apparently. Good luck with that.

With attitudes like that~~~getting yourself a good career after the next round of layoffs will be your greatest challenge..Good luck~~.

 

[Anonymous]

Pfizer, Parke-Davis and many other corporations were already like that 30 years ago. Merck only recently became another "Pfizer". May be 15 years ago Merck was still a more employee-centric company to work for. It has changed. Turnover used to be one of the lowest in the industry. Once they get used to seeing us as numbers and a line item we are just tools. You are wasting your time crying over it. If a woman does not love you anymore, don't hang around. Move on. There is life out there.

Merck's change for the worse began around 1994 when the corporation's board of directors stumbled badly in finding a successor to Dr. Vagelos. Many mid and senior level managers took advantage of early retirements at that time. It's been one long downhill slide ever since then. As for becoming another "Pfizer", this actually began around 1997 when Gerry Gallivan would voice this as Merck's new strategy for meeting the challenges Merck had never faced before. Lipitor was the new king of the statin franchise after having quickly and handily kicking Merck's Mevacor/Zocor from their lofty dominance of the market. Merck's solution to this new uncomfortable position: BECOME LIKE PFIZER. And all of us still here at Merck know only too well how that has worked out..... Turnover of employees at all levels has been common ever since and Merck's admirability has faded into the distant past now. All the executive clowns who decided to try and make Merck just like Pfizer are long gone, too. Unfortunately, their negative influence destroyed what had been a great pharmaceutical company and employer and those of us left continue to suffer their toxic legacy.