avoid at all cost -- Novartis CZ only wants yeah saying drones as employees
Pros
MOBILE PHONE: I personally do not see this as a pro but will mention it here just the same. Every new hire, irrespective of job title, was given a mobile phone for private use. This was very aggressively sold as a being a perk even when it was very clear that it is not at all employees required for the job itself. When I asked the person in charge who provided it as part of the salary package, it was funnelled back to my direct manager that I should not question a gift horse in the mouth and be grateful. I think it is relevant to note that the phone some employees were given is not supported by IT. At the time of the training, IT only provided support for iPhones. I was one of at least half the group who was given a Samsung. IT was not aware that no everyone had received an iPhone and when they found out told me that this phone would never be able to connect to the network which means that you would need to use the data plan to use the internet. I went through more than half my data in 2 days just uploading and installing programmes which Novartis deemed necessary to have on the phone. Diversity: Novartis also sold the fact that there are more than 20 nationalities working at the Prague office. I can imagine that this would or could be a great thing.
Cons
This company is not interested in people who have a difference of opinion or even an opinion for that matter. You are expected to just say yes and keep your nose to the grindstone. Communication: during the induction training (more than 25 new hires started at the same time as I and the new hire tendency will only increase by the looks of it) I was literally the only person who asked questions. I was then told at the end of the 3rd and last day of training that at least one of the trainers had complained that I was asking too many questions. In a normal company how is that possible and how can that kind of feedback be taken seriously? If you cannot ask questions when you are new, then when? Open communication/open door policy simply does not exist. People will eat with you in the cantine and smile to your face but then stab you in the back and complain to your manager without blinking an eye. I was disparaged and verbally threatened by Novartis management and therefore went on long term illness. That is why I am no longer there. Labour laws in the Czech Republic are very different than in other EU countries. The fact that most employees are not aware of their legal rights (mainly those who are not Czech but not exclusively) gives Novartis a very strong upper hand. Already told during the interview that you are expected to remain in the role for at least a year i.e. job opportunities based on merit are not a given. This is a prime example of yet another company who moved a good chunk of their business from an expensive country to another country simply to find cheap labour. They are not interested in the well-being of their employees and since they seem to believe that they control the job market that they can do whatever they please with employees. Working at home was also sold as a perk even though everybody knows that if or when you are given this option, it is clearly with the expectation that you will work even longer since you will not have to travel. Trying to get the necessary rights in order to make it possible to use the laptop at home requires a PhD in IT knowledge.
