Global economic crisis: Growth, pay rises and job security in a changing climate
07 Jul 2008
After moderate publicity promoting the healthy anticipated growth of the pharma industry in the coming year, even against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, it is unsettling to some that news of yet another flurry of job losses is yet to settle.
US pharmaceutical company Wyeth has announced that 1,200 field-based sales representatives have lost their jobs amid major company restructuring. This represents the latest phase in its proposed shedding op up to ten per cent of its global workforce. Wyeth, headquartered in New Jersey, has 50,000 employees in 100 countries worldwide, which is a significant workforce.
It's not just someone else's problem either: In March the Telegraph newspaper reported on Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry figures that indicate about ten per cent of the UK's pharma sector's workforce, equal to about 8,000 jobs, have been cut in the last three years.
The association lays blame at the feet of changes to the ways in which companies are paid for prescription medicines; nevertheless, this is of no comfort to those who have lost their jobs. What might be is that those changing their jobs, either through redundancy or other reasons, are better off in the long run. According to Personnel Today, which reported on a Right Management survey, in December more than half (56 per cent) UK workers changing jobs found another that had equal or better pay to the one they were leaving.
According to the same survey, while big pharma job losses make the headlines, only six per cent of companies polled said they were planning to make job cuts, vastly outweighed by those who intended to take on more workers (13 per cent).
While the media obsesses over the state of the housing market and interest rates, some sectors are certainly not struggling - and pharma's figures suggests it is in the latter category.
As far as pay is concerned, salaries rose more than four per cent in the three months ending in February, said figures from Incomes Data Services – hardly indicative of a sector in crisis.
"Current levels of increases reflect company stability rather than the panic of financial markets," Alastair Hatchett, head of pay services at IDS, told the BBC.
But what if you're lucky in having the World's Best Job Ever in terms of satisfaction, but the pay is less than you think it should be. There are limited choices – put up and shut up, leave for financially greener pastures, or ask for a pay rise.
Asking for more money is not unreasonable but it can be daunting – especially to us Brits who are more known for our preference for the "put up and shut up" option, perhaps while resentfully grinding out own teeth down to the bone. Hays Pharma, experts in sector recruitment and everything that comes with it, notes that careful planning can go a long way to achieving the desired result – which is to get a pay rise while continuing a good relationship with management.
It counsels asking yourself seven vital questions before even approaching your line manager: What if your request is turned down? Do you deserve a pay rise? Are you going the extra mile? What are your ambitions? How much more money do you want? Are you ready to take on added responsibility? What are your weaknesses?
"Do you want more money because you believe you deserve it, or is it to make an otherwise tedious job more bearable," the company asks.
"In our experience, the majority of people who believe the latter end up leaving their jobs within months of their pay rise."
In terms of the economy, it is never a good time to ask for a pay rise – or so it seems. But neither is it ever a bad time. Good luck with that.
