Employees and patients care about the company's mission to improve human health, not shareholders.
Pros
The company offers good benefits and my particular job is flexible with regard to working hours and time off. My direct management displays great effort in treating its employees fairly and to ensure job satisfaction. This sentiment is not universal, but it is something that exists more that what I see in many other companies.
Cons
In the last several years the reputation of the pharmaceutical industry and Merck in particular have taken a hit. It is to the point that I am usually secretive about what I do and where I work when I am asked. However, the larger issues are related to the several large-scale failures the company has endured during this decade. These have resulted in continuous threats to job security and a seemingly never-ending period of lay-offs and restructuring. No job at any level is safe at any time. While this is true for most jobs in all industry during a time of economic trouble, it is disappointing to see this continue in good and bad economic times in what is usually regarded as a "recession-proof industry."
