Not the place it used to be - Biostatistics and Stat Programming Alcon Employee Review

2.0
Jan 21, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary and benefits are good. They shut down between Christmas and New Years - so you always have that week off.

Cons

Alcon used to be a great place to work, but after Novartis took over, things have definitely changed. Upper management is all from outside the company - which doesn't give you the incentive to work hard, since you won't be promoted. The emphasis is on getting things done faster, and not necessarily with quality. Studies are planned, and resources planned, then the planned dates get moved up by weeks or months, leaving everyone scrambling, working long hours, and swapping out planned resources. If you work remotely, there aren't any opportunities to move up - it's almost out of sight, out of mind. Many areas don't like telecommuters, and it shows. Only the people in the office are considered for the good assignments. At the office, they have gone to these very short cubicles, in which you can see and hear everyone and everything - it's noisy and distracting. I used to try to get my friends to work here, now I tell them that they don't want to work here.

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5.0
Apr 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible Schedule Good Culture Good Benefits

Cons

The pace of work can be very fast or inconsistent.

1.0
Mar 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

none nada nunca abandon all hope ye who enter here

Cons

Working here makes me want to unalive myself daily. It's a typical corporate environment with lots of rules and processes that do nothing for efficiency or production and are only applied to women, minorities, or high performers that carry the team but don't have the right anatomy, look, or last name for promotions and growth. But don't worry, if you have a family connection and absolutely no skills or intellect and like to schmooze but hate work you'll probably get promoted often and rapidly. Working here over the last several years has truly drained any previous ambition I entered the workplace with. The lack of work life balance and low pay contributes to a slow descent into a sloth like existence because I can no longer afford to do outside activities and barely pay my bills, and when I do have free time it's typically interrupted by some arbitrary coworker crash out over a minor inconvenience. I find myself taking on bad health habits to make it end sooner and because you'll need to conform to being chained to your desk and sitting at your desk at least 8 hours of the day to last. bathroom breaks-ha who needs those!

4
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