First, the good news about what biopharma employees are thinking today: Things aren't as bad as they used to be--for some. That's the bottom line of a new industry survey conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Concerns about job security dropped to 63.8%, which is better than the 69.7% majority that registered their fears in 2011.
The improvement on that score comes despite some challenges that would keep most anyone awake at night, notes a feature from PharmaManufacturing.com. "Pharma continues to go through restructuring," Challenger says."Patents are expiring. The new U.S. healthcare law effects are still being seen. And there is still general uncertainty in the economy. This is leading to a new spate of layoffs."
But back to the upbeat news. While some sectors are being particularly hard hit, a number of companies report that hiring is on the upswing again. Small- and medium-sized companies are finding venture cash again, which is triggering new hires. And plenty of people have found that they're harder to replace. Fully half of the survey respondents said that they were shouldering more work due to a cutback. Almost the same number had a reorganization to worry about. And 52% described their job satisfaction level as very high or high. Just having a job these days seems to be cause for a positive attitude.
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