Novartis

Cons

The lack of integrity is blatant: towards patients first and this is also reflected in relationships between colleagues. The word “accountability” is completely unknown. I noticed inappropriate behavior from several Global directors, including: the use of a condescending tone, sexist and/or age-related comments, and homophobic “jokes.” Examples: one who mentions his genitals, another who says “If you don’t call me [nickname], it’s because we haven’t spent the night together yet”. I highly recommend seeking help outside the company first before contacting Speak Up, the department officially responsible for investigating and acting on violations of the internal Code of Ethics and/or the law. From what I've seen, Local teams are more competent than Global teams. Some people talk, hide their ignorance behind their arrogance and enjoy giving orders while others do the work. The Global strategy is unclear, without vision – although this probably varies by therapeutic area. Advancing a project that is important to patients and defined as a priority is a feat. A new organizational change is underway, which is surprising considering the one that happened only a few months ago. Employees fear for their place, that’s understandable. This makes ego problems worse. There's nothing worse than coworkers projecting their insecurities onto you.