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this company is truly a mess

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Anonymous said:
It is deeply discouraging and sad to listen to all of you with 25+ years. You all regret what Merck has become and can't wait for your retirement ticket out. I guess in a way I'm lucky not to have your perspectives or else I would probably also be losing my mind over the way things are now.
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We knew how Merck was and we were successful. We were well respected. Then we are experiencing the new Merck and know we will never re-capture that coveted spot as the "most admired" company. We know what we can do to get more business and yet am being told to do it this new way or else. Many of us were hired to work smart and hard but not to crank out spreadsheets and e-mails. We are solid and quiet hard workers which does not blend well with the new Merck.
 




Anonymous said:
We knew how Merck was and we were successful. We were well respected. Then we are experiencing the new Merck and know we will never re-capture that coveted spot as the "most admired" company. We know what we can do to get more business and yet am being told to do it this new way or else. Many of us were hired to work smart and hard but not to crank out spreadsheets and e-mails. We are solid and quiet hard workers which does not blend well with the new Merck.
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even at MRL hard work is not appreciated
 




Anonymous said:
We knew how Merck was and we were successful. We were well respected. Then we are experiencing the new Merck and know we will never re-capture that coveted spot as the "most admired" company. We know what we can do to get more business and yet am being told to do it this new way or else. Many of us were hired to work smart and hard but not to crank out spreadsheets and e-mails. We are solid and quiet hard workers which does not blend well with the new Merck.
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So much of how we legacy employees feel is related to how great we felt in being selected by and thriving at a company that was arguably the best in the business. The greatness is gone and that feeling has been taken away from us, not through our own personal failure but by the failure of the company. Disappoinment and anger in these threads are proof that many of us deeply sense the loss. But how we feel is not going to change the reality that Merck is pretty unlikely to be great again- at least during the time we have left in our careers. Having Merck on your resume used to mean job security and it was comforting knowing that someone out there was interested in "poaching" you. This is certainly no longer true. Merck is just like any other company, it is just like any other job, and we are just like employees everywhere. Today it would be foolish for anyone to believe that working at Merck has any benefit above and beyond working anywhere else. The angriest among us would love to see the company crash and burn. That's not going to happen either. The best strategy is to not invest too much emotional energy into Merck. Look after yourself and your family and if you can cut a better deal elsewhere, work the numbers and walk based solely on the numbers. The company is working their own numbers and doing the same math and drawing the same conclusions. Trust and loyalty is a thing of the past. That changed relationship makes us all, companies and employees alike, more mercenary and eliminates a powerful motivational force. But that hard-edged philosophy will not be different anywhere else. Above all, stay informed about what you might be missing by going elsewhere. Avoid the company Kool-Aid. And yes, this company is truly a mess, especially compared to what it formerly was. But I intend to keep my sanity by avoiding investing excess emotional energy into a lost cause.
 




Everyone I talked to at our S1 wants out. Some were the same people so scared of management they spoke out loud at the meeting about how great this or that, how useful and what an improvement! Then they walked out and said, "No way would I ever use that in the field!" Out of touch does not even begin to discribe how most people feel about management. Even some of the managers could not wait to get the hell out of the meeting. So sad to know probably 80 percent of the people around me are asking themselves: "What else can do now because I do not want to do this anymore?"
 








Problem is we are top heavy. Management wants to make believe our jobs are way, way more important than they actually are. Folks, this is a sales and research organization. Get rid of most of middle management and put your money into R&D and the sales force. Quit making it seem as though "we" bring some kind of "big deal" value to our clients. We do not. Stop scrambling for a sense of selfworth and importance over carrying a bag. Just do it, pick up your check and get on with life. I doubt sales people years ago had meetings and ride alongs with special speakers and poster presentations to make themselves feel important. It was and still is a job. Most companies went down the tubes when the MBAs took over and continually needed to justify THEIR existance. Now you cannot prove them wrong because THEY run the company.
 




So true what poster #25 stated. With the old Merck on your resume, any other job then was a step down or most, a lateral move. Now we are a generic drug company just like anyone else. We no longer hear a customer said, "I am so glad to see you, a Merck rep, that know your products and disease entities versus the other one that just left." Not that we are less trained and dumber these days. We made ourselves just like any other reps with this new model.
 




Anonymous said:
So true what poster #25 stated. With the old Merck on your resume, any other job then was a step down or most, a lateral move. Now we are a generic drug company just like anyone else. We no longer hear a customer said, "I am so glad to see you, a Merck rep, that know your products and disease entities versus the other one that just left." Not that we are less trained and dumber these days. We made ourselves just like any other reps with this new model.
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I've been out of the industry for 13 years and was wondering if this "new model" you reference has been adopted by the other pharma companies. Back when I was around, it seemed they all used the same playbook and we often played follow the leader, with Merck being the leader. I'm assuming other pharma is using a similar sales model.
 




Anonymous said:
I've been out of the industry for 13 years and was wondering if this "new model" you reference has been adopted by the other pharma companies. Back when I was around, it seemed they all used the same playbook and we often played follow the leader, with Merck being the leader. I'm assuming other pharma is using a similar sales model.
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Think back to 13 years ago. Think that Merck has adopted the "Pfizer Model" in a way. Now you know what the current Merck is like.
 




The do as I say not as I do management style is finally catching upto Merck. It is imploding from within. The lying, two-faced, backstabbing managers and DCO's need to go before the turn around can happen.
 




Merck has 10 years of relevance, and perhaps autonomy, left. Maybe less. I will hoist a few beers as the lickspittles lament when they find out that they are the laughingstock of corporate America, unemployable.
 




Anonymous said:
Merck has 10 years of relevance, and perhaps autonomy, left. Maybe less. I will hoist a few beers as the lickspittles lament when they find out that they are the laughingstock of corporate America, unemployable.
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Ten years sounds about right. Ironically, it may be that Merck's love affair with emerging markets will be its unraveling. If Merck possessed internally discovered, developed, and produced medicines that could be priced for these low-margin markets, they would probably be OK. They do not, and will struggle, and will need to make too many compromising deals in order keep up the appearance that this strategy is winning. One of many well-heeled, and truly aggressive capitalists in India and China will figure out Merck's predicament and acquire them one way or another. And you can bet that those golden boy lickspittles will make out like bandits - admittedly for the very last time as legacy Merck bandits. Meanwhile, enjoy your perilous career. Jaguar, Volvo, ... Merck.
 




Anonymous said:
Ten years sounds about right. Ironically, it may be that Merck's love affair with emerging markets will be its unraveling. If Merck possessed internally discovered, developed, and produced medicines that could be priced for these low-margin markets, they would probably be OK. They do not, and will struggle, and will need to make too many compromising deals in order keep up the appearance that this strategy is winning. One of many well-heeled, and truly aggressive capitalists in India and China will figure out Merck's predicament and acquire them one way or another. And you can bet that those golden boy lickspittles will make out like bandits - admittedly for the very last time as legacy Merck bandits. Meanwhile, enjoy your perilous career. Jaguar, Volvo, ... Merck.
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I would add Enron, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
 




Anonymous said:
Everyone I talked to at our S1 wants out. Some were the same people so scared of management they spoke out loud at the meeting about how great this or that, how useful and what an improvement! Then they walked out and said, "No way would I ever use that in the field!" Out of touch does not even begin to discribe how most people feel about management. Even some of the managers could not wait to get the hell out of the meeting. So sad to know probably 80 percent of the people around me are asking themselves: "What else can do now because I do not want to do this anymore?"
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Why the fear...though it was safe to speak up and be heard?
 




Anonymous said:
Why the fear...though it was safe to speak up and be heard?
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Have you been under a rock? It is not safe to speak up. Those that make any kind of wave are instantly labled as trouble makers and a red X is stuck to their backside. Get real. No one is going to speak up or answer the "survey" questions honestly. Just like most of the people I know, I'm looking to get out.
 








Come on people. This is nothing new. Change is constant. If you wish to survive you will resolutely adopt it, embrace it, and celebrate it. That is the only way you will survive, whether or not Merck survives.
 




Anonymous said:
Come on people. This is nothing new. Change is constant. If you wish to survive you will resolutely adopt it, embrace it, and celebrate it. That is the only way you will survive, whether or not Merck survives.
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I was a technical specialist at Merck and they had the opportunity to get rid of me. I have since moved on to helping other failing organizations with the calamities that getting rid of their technical talent caused them. It is contract work but the pay on an hourly basis is 250% higher than I could expect at Merck. This sort of position comes with absolutely zero job security - that's why the hourly rate is so high. Unfortunately there is no shortage of such positions in the US because all of the big pharmas presently need a lot of (relatively short-term, experienced) help dismantling themselves. It would be more value adding if they all of them fixed what was wrong and put my efforts to more beneficial use as a full-time employee. I do not think that I am adding one bit to the economic strength of this country - I am a sort of well-paid parasite just like the leadership of the companies that fired me and will hire me. This is the sort of embracing and change I have made. But in so doing, I am eating someone's future and making someone's future brighter in India or China, I'm sure. Oh, and by the way, there seems to be absolutely no job security for non-contract employees either. What a shitty work environment this industry has arrived at.
 












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