Merck reviews

4.1

83% would recommend to a friend

(6,147 total reviews)
avatar

Rob Davis

82% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Merck has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 6,147 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Merck employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Farmacéutica y biotecnología industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

6K reviews
1.0
Aug 3, 2023

Not really all its cracked up to be

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits, that's about it.

Cons

Abusive work environment. Expect long hours with people you need to help and will never help you in return. Also expect to have 8 different things sent to you, all due yesterday, with harassing and demeaning calls and emails from middle management all day about them. If you try to take off, you'll get told you need to 'run the business' even as a low-level employee by your manager or their manager who makes 3x your salary. Also never expect a promotion unless you're willing to work consistent 16 hour days...no work-life balance for you unless you want to be stuck in the same role for 10 years!

2.0
Jul 30, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits and compensation are pretty great, but I did not find it was worth the stress and politics.

Cons

I found that most employees at Merck have been there for decades. This unfortunately results in many people who have not learned new skills and seem to be unmotivated to change themselves or their workstreams, which resulted in industry best-practices not being followed. It honestly felt like people at Merck operated in a bubble that was 15 years behind in digital marketing (saying this even taking into consideration legal pharma issues). I found it was nearly impossible to move anything forward in an environment where there is so much bureaucracy, hierarchy, politics, and sensitivity. Co-workers often seemed to justify their jobs by strangle-holding their workstreams instead of collaborating openly and without ego. It often feels like everyone is trying as hard as possible to not do anything, but still trying to appear as if they are doing something. The feeling of obfuscation is overwhelming. The physical building culture is also not ideal - in an era where many offices are going remote, the Merck UG campus building remains something straight out of Office Space.

Viewing 22 - 24 of 6,147 Reviews

Glassdoor has 8,158 Merck reviews submitted anonymously by Merck employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Merck is right for you.