People leaving the company…

[anonymous]

Holy Smokes…what is going on around here. After the re-org in July, people are leaving the company faster than people running out of a burning building…

The Training Department would be the best place to be right now…classes are full every month and you really don’t have to create new curriculum. They’re like the comedian at a bar in Waikiki…just keep telling the same jokes and stories to a new group of tourists every week….Auto pilot…Cruise Control. My seniority goes up every month…

 

[The über man]

Why do you ask the question why everyone is leaving? REPS ARE BORED AND FRUSTRATED OUT OF THEIR MIND. It was like this 7 years ago, and has only gotten worse each year with access declining! And then you get rewarded with a PIP at the beginning of the new year! It's a total shitshow and will never change. We are in 2025 and Otsuka acts as if it is 1975!
We are managed by idiots. Accept it, live with it, or get out. Those are your choices. Nobody wants to hear one more word about Result. Trust me. We were at that point 7 years ago. It's a dog and always will be a dog. Just look at the market shares of your competitors.

 

[Your friend]

Failure of the employee

 

[Your friend]

How does a respected Company with viable products lose market value...their management and employees become complacent. Otsuka has consistently provided value-added meds for patients, yet our leadership & employees have not reached beyond the conventional means to make the difference in mental health and kidney disease. The opportunity to drive MDD value through primary care was dismissed by Meldrum and Kabir, but there has been no outreach from the Marketing and Sales team to compete in primary care. What a lost opportunity of $4B, but nobody wants to address it. Why not?

 

[anonymous]

Why do you ask the question why everyone is leaving? REPS ARE BORED AND FRUSTRATED OUT OF THEIR MIND. It was like this 7 years ago, and has only gotten worse each year with access declining! And then you get rewarded with a PIP at the beginning of the new year! It's a total shitshow and will never change. We are in 2025 and Otsuka acts as if it is 1975!
We are managed by idiots. Accept it, live with it, or get out. Those are your choices. Nobody wants to hear one more word about Result. Trust me. We were at that point 7 years ago. It's a dog and always will be a dog. Just look at the market shares of your competitors.

Same situation on our team. Losing reps continuously By April, it will be a completely new team except the reps that have resigned themselves to this is what it is… (and are able to pick up the kids from school to get them to soccer practice, softball practice, and basketball practice). They have succeeded in manipulating the manager, who “is past their prime”, and is just hanging on to put kids thru college (and therefore avoids any confrontation with the “protected ones”). A very sad situation…

 

[anonymous]

How does a respected Company with viable products lose market value...their management and employees become complacent. Otsuka has consistently provided value-added meds for patients, yet our leadership & employees have not reached beyond the conventional means to make the difference in mental health and kidney disease. The opportunity to drive MDD value through primary care was dismissed by Meldrum and Kabir, but there has been no outreach from the Marketing and Sales team to compete in primary care. What a lost opportunity of $4B, but nobody wants to address it. Why not?

A couple of things lead to what you describe - arrogance and ignorance (which leads to complacency). Things quickly become status quo, and people start taking the easy path, instead of growing and pushing. As well, if you get the wrong folks in Marketing, and Sales Leadership hesitates to challenge, or provide insight into market dynamics or challenges, then you get the situation the company is currently in. Many times it appears that Marketing is SO DISONNECTED from sales that what they produce is college sophomore quality -(and trash). Veteran folks refer to it as “The Otsuka Way”…I didn’t understand the term at first, I do now.

 

[anonymous]

How does a respected Company with viable products lose market value...their management and employees become complacent. Otsuka has consistently provided value-added meds for patients, yet our leadership & employees have not reached beyond the conventional means to make the difference in mental health and kidney disease. The opportunity to drive MDD value through primary care was dismissed by Meldrum and Kabir, but there has been no outreach from the Marketing and Sales team to compete in primary care. What a lost opportunity of $4B, but nobody wants to address it. Why not?

Well, the first thought that comes to mind is that the “Marketing Leaders”, and “Sales Leaders” are completely okay with a 3rd Place Ribbon, to be “average.” From the outside looking in, it appears to be a “let’s do the bare minimum, and then they slap each other on the back at the end of the day and say “Great Job!”

Tge person that handles Market Access in our state is completely in over their head and can’t answer any questions, or create solutions. When we bring challenges or discuss market conditions…total “deer in the headlights”, and clearly in way over their head. WTF?

 

[anonymous]

Well, the first thought that comes to mind is that the “Marketing Leaders”, and “Sales Leaders” are completely okay with a 3rd Place Ribbon, to be “average.” From the outside looking in, it appears to be a “let’s do the bare minimum, and then they slap each other on the back at the end of the day and say “Great Job!”

Tge person that handles Market Access in our state is completely in over their head and can’t answer any questions, or create solutions. When we bring challenges or discuss market conditions…total “deer in the headlights”, and clearly in way over their head. WTF?

In our area, the Market Access person has gone into Witness Protection…can’t find the person. We bring quantifiable issues to this person, explain the challenges that customers are getting frustrated and angry about, and the Market Access says “Nope, that’s not happening.” Then, they bring the FRMs in, and the backlog is so high, that they are essentially trying to empty the Pacific Ocean with a small bucket and mop. I see the old timers on my team, who once had significant responsibility at much larger companies, just sit there and nod yes to everything…they don’t interject any comments or solutions ( because the boss is so self-enamored, he doesn’t ask for any input…won’t stop talking). The old timers are just cashing the checks and working for health insurance. I think they have it figured as they have reached the point where they simply don’t care.

 

[The über man]

How does a respected Company with viable products lose market value...their management and employees become complacent. Otsuka has consistently provided value-added meds for patients, yet our leadership & employees have not reached beyond the conventional means to make the difference in mental health and kidney disease. The opportunity to drive MDD value through primary care was dismissed by Meldrum and Kabir, but there has been no outreach from the Marketing and Sales team to compete in primary care. What a lost opportunity of $4B, but nobody wants to address it. Why not?

"How does a respected Company"

Who respects Otsuka?

"Otsuka has consistently provided value-added meds for patients"

What are you smoking? Rex is a total joke and has NO ADVANTAGES OVER ABILIFY!

It's about GREED! Not helping patients. The truly amazing part is the laziness and incompetence by the marketing department in the home office, who apparently does nothing else but shuffle papers and at the end of the day congratulates itself for having done "a great job helping patients". It's mental masturbation at best.

 

[The Uber man]

You're supposed to follow at Otsuka...not care

 

[anonymous]

Same situation on our team. Losing reps continuously By April, it will be a completely new team except the reps that have resigned themselves to this is what it is… (and are able to pick up the kids from school to get them to soccer practice, softball practice, and basketball practice). They have succeeded in manipulating the manager, who “is past their prime”, and is just hanging on to put kids thru college (and therefore avoids any confrontation with the “protected ones”). A very sad situation…

This whole thread makes me sad. Definitely a lot of people leaving

 

[anonymous]

This whole thread makes me sad. Definitely a lot of people leaving

Oh, don’t be sad. There is a concerted effort to “Attract, Retain, and Develop” folks. Havent seen much in the way of focused effort to “retain” people. I have seen significantly less effort and focus in the “develop” area (and they just hired a person whose entire focus is development…all I hear are crickets). In fact, “development” opportunities are virtually non-existent, particularly if you have a manager, who is way past their prime, just punching the clock, and collecting healthcare. In most major corporations, development happens in the field with projects, but, as I look at the product portfolio, how do you even attain that? And, the Training Department hasn’t created any continuous learning. No one seems to care.

 

[anonymous]

Oh, don’t be sad. There is a concerted effort to “Attract, Retain, and Develop” folks. Havent seen much in the way of focused effort to “retain” people. I have seen significantly less effort and focus in the “develop” area (and they just hired a person whose entire focus is development…all I hear are crickets). In fact, “development” opportunities are virtually non-existent, particularly if you have a manager, who is way past their prime, just punching the clock, and collecting healthcare. In most major corporations, development happens in the field with projects, but, as I look at the product portfolio, how do you even attain that? And, the Training Department hasn’t created any continuous learning. No one seems to care.

You are clearly way too smart to be working here…

 

[anonymous]

You are clearly way too smart to be working here…

Oh, don’t be sad. There is a concerted effort to “Attract, Retain, and Develop” folks. Havent seen much in the way of focused effort to “retain” people. I have seen significantly less effort and focus in the “develop” area (and they just hired a person whose entire focus is development…all I hear are crickets). In fact, “development” opportunities are virtually non-existent, particularly if you have a manager, who is way past their prime, just punching the clock, and collecting healthcare. In most major corporations, development happens in the field with projects, but, as I look at the product portfolio, how do you even attain that? And, the Training Department hasn’t created any continuous learning. No one seems to care.

There is a new mental illness now, called "BOREOUT" ( derived from BURNOUT). It refers to people who are simply under- challenged and under-worked in their job. Signs and symptoms are: DEPRESSION!

This is not a joke. There are videos on the net on this. You know what happens when you are depressed? Your most valuable asst, YOUR BRAIN, SHRINKS!!!!!

Think about that, before you diminish what I posted. People at Otsuka are starting to recognize it and leaving in droves.

 

[anonymous]

There is a new mental illness now, called "BOREOUT" ( derived from BURNOUT). It refers to people who are simply under- challenged and under-worked in their job. Signs and symptoms are: DEPRESSION!

This is not a joke. There are videos on the net on this. You know what happens when you are depressed? Your most valuable asst, YOUR BRAIN, SHRINKS!!!!!

Think about that, before you diminish what I posted. People at Otsuka are starting to recognize it and leaving in droves.

You speak the truth (which is rare in the corporate world)

Boreout at work is a state of chronic boredom that can lead to frustration, low morale, and mental exhaustion.

 

[anonymous]

Nobody cares about anything associated with Otsuka! My manager is worse than I am! You can tell they absolutely despise field rides! Half the time this person sits in the car while I go in the office. They pretend they have a call to make or they are faking computer work. It’s really hilarious. Yes, we are bored and burnout and nothing will ever change.

 

[The Uber man]

Nobody cares about anything associated with Otsuka! My manager is worse than I am! You can tell they absolutely despise field rides! Half the time this person sits in the car while I go in the office. They pretend they have a call to make or they are faking computer work. It’s really hilarious. Yes, we are bored and burnout and nothing will ever change.

YOU, my friend, need to take your future into your own hands. After you leave here, either voluntary or involuntary, ask yourself, why should another employer hire me? What skills have I gained here, (other than driving around, delivering Starbucks and Olive Garden, getting signatures and faking calls each and every day)? Every hour here is A WASTE OF YOUR TIME AND YOUR LIFE. You may sell yourself with "having X years of experience" to your next employer... the fact is you have ONE day of experience times 365 days times the number if years you have "worked" here. Think about that. Perhaps you got lucky one year because of a formulary win and great numbers. That's the year you should have gotten out of this misery.

And yes, nothing will ever change here. It all starts in Japan, and filters through all layers of unnecessary management we have.

Use the time here to either get a new skill, or a side hustle. Trust me my friend, you will need it some day. To Otsuka, you are nothing but a number, and an easily replaceable one on top of it.

There are plenty of opportunities out there to make money, but you need to think a bit out of the box! DON'T put your future in the hands of others! Do you honestly think Otsuka managers have YOUR best interest in mind? These people will have no qualms throwing YOU UNDER THE BUS as you age and your numbers are heading South. It will happen some time, trust me! I have seen it too many times at Otsuka.

Now you may wonder, why are you still here? I am milking the cow. I have amassed so much money over the years here, that if they find me and let me go, I have cash for 10 years. House is paid off, wife has a good job. Not worried. Uber and Lift are providing plenty of cash, and that has been invested in dividend paying stocks...I keep buying more on dips.

Good luck to you! And to any Otsuka manager who reads this: GFYs!

 

[anonymous]

It's pretty pathetic when reps have to impress their DM with "positivity", ass kissing, bootlicking, and brown-nosing. The lower their ranking, the more they do it. At a recent teleconference, it was so annoying that I turned the volume down any time these two reps spoke. Of course, the DM ate it up! How low do people go in order to save their own skin for this bullshit job? If you have been on the bottom of the ranking for your region for any length of time, be assured, the RD notices it and will make changes...none of which are good for you.
When you get a PIP, it's already too late. The PIP is nothing but a warning that the end is near.

 

[anonymous]

It's pretty pathetic when reps have to impress their DM with "positivity", ass kissing, bootlicking, and brown-nosing. The lower their ranking, the more they do it. At a recent teleconference, it was so annoying that I turned the volume down any time these two reps spoke. Of course, the DM ate it up! How low do people go in order to save their own skin for this bullshit job? If you have been on the bottom of the ranking for your region for any length of time, be assured, the RD notices it and will make changes...none of which are good for you.
When you get a PIP, it's already too late. The PIP is nothing but a warning that the end is near.

So much truth in this post. I’m hoping someone with family wealth, a smart attorney on their side, gets handed a poorly constructed PIP. And the attorney digs in and actually asks the right questions about how data is compiled and collected here. At a previous, much larger pharma company, highly paid consultants admitted that the sales data is very inaccurate….And yet, these companies get away with layoffs and PIPs based on faulty data. That’s why it is so hard to listen to Senior Leaders talk “culture”, and the importance of “mental health”…just a big charade.

You can only hope that you have a decent manager, who recognizes effort and a strategic business approach, and who has the stones to stand up to a bully Regional Manager (they are rare, but they do exist).

 

[anonymous]

Nobody cares about anything associated with Otsuka! My manager is worse than I am! You can tell they absolutely despise field rides! Half the time this person sits in the car while I go in the office. They pretend they have a call to make or they are faking computer work. It’s really hilarious. Yes, we are bored and burnout and nothing will ever change.

Sounds like a pretty good boss. Or, would you rather have a boss that goes in and takes over the call just to show you how smart they are? Clearly overstays their welcome and then you have to go back in the next day and apologize to the customer.