Roche is transforming, but not for the better
Pros
Meaningful work. If there's one standout thing about the company, it's that the majority of employees are genuinely committed to improving health care around the world.
Cons
The Roche leadership approach is going "back to the future" -- that is, the leadership teams are increasingly white, middle-aged, German speaking men. The CEO has even told employees that the company can't find qualified women applicants (nonsense). For all the talk (and there is a lot of it) about transforming the company for the future, it's not going to get there with the current leadership mindset. Office politics have gotten worse than ever. Turnover is increasing sharply, as people are either pushed out or leave because they can't take the politics anymore. Almost every department is restructuring with layoffs. Middle management is poor. The speak-up culture is on paper only. Try it in the real world and you'll see how quickly you get penalised for it. Women are fast disappearing from leadership positions. The ridiculous and counter-productive emphasis on speaking German for global roles when German speaking is not remotely necessary. It only promotes more cronyism among the white, German-speaking middle-aged men running the company. Diversity and inclusion have been thrown under the bus. Roles are being downgraded with lower salaries and bonuses. At global headquarters, it's almost impossible to advance without being a native or near-native German speaker, even if German is only marginally related to the actual job HR is not there to help you. Ever. Substandard IT tools and technology
