Pharma Manufacturing Magazine's eighth annual "Job Satisfaction and Salary Survey" reports that "roughly 50% of you have taken on an increased workload due to staff cuts...burnout continues to be a significant issue, for you individually, but also for your colleagues and site productivity." There is a silver lining: Hiring and salary freezes have dipped over the past year, and fewer survey respondants are expecting layoffs compared to last year.
The main challenges reported in the survey results:
The two largest contributors to the challenges experienced were:
- 50% reported an increased work load due to staff cuts
- 49% reported the introduction of a new team or change in organizational structure
These two challenges are understandable and frequent given the number of consolidations and reductions in force the industry has experienced over the last few years. In spite of these issues, the fundamental activities and processes that are essential to development and commercialization in the biopharma industry have to continue. To achieve optimal success, there must be sufficient and competent managment to ensure products and related strategies are conceived, developed, and implemented to meet the demands of a forevermore complex and competitive environment (see "Failure Is Not An Option" article).
Conclusion
There are fewer people at work and workloads have increased. Many of those with deep experience and skills honed over time are no longer on staff. The end result of this reality: fewer people to do the same amount of work, typically with no changes in deadlines, leading to burnout and less than desired program outcomes.
Contact Partners in BioPharma Consulting to see where we may be able to assist you with staffing and workload issues. We can manage a project from beginning to end, provide contracted support, or suggest talented experts from our alliance partners to help you achieve your goals. Click here for an outline of services that can be designed to meet your needs.
Links
The following are links that provide additional background and insights on the topics discussed in this article. We hope you find them useful!
- Click here for the source document.
- Additional discussion on this issue include comments from John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, “John Challenger: Cross-Currents Buffeting Pharma Make Predicting 2012 Job Market Difficult“ available here.
