Merck reviews

Just like everyone company, where politics of people are key, Merck is no stranger. There’s a lot of layers and stakeholders. Which makes for a conservative and risk-averse environment. That doesn’t mean that risk is intolerable — you just better have everything figured out before you move everything along with you. Poor ideas and poorly substantive work will be crushed before novel ideas ever take off. That said, the right ears will give novel ideals some serious wings. Currently, Merck is feeling out it’s positions in a lot of high value areas due to the changes experienced by the industry post-COVID. It’s both an exciting time to be in such a company, but the hope is Merck’s layered governance doesn’t get in its own way.

The culture at Merck has become one of indifference to innovative bioscience, which is reflected in the mood of employees and management alike: low enthusiasm for the science and apathy toward influencing the next generation of therapeutics. It was discouraging to see great colleagues’ talent go unused and their drive to impact patients be neglected. Conversations in the labs rarely touched on scientific topics as people bided their time before the commute home, meetings focused on box-checking exercises to fulfill year-end goals, and managers closed their office doors to read the news and trade stocks. Over the course of 2018-2021, many experienced colleagues departed the company, leaving those content with the status quo and ensconcing a culture of indifference.