Micro managing from the top - Anonymous employee AbbVie Employee Review

1.0
18 Jun 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Like other large pharmaceuticals, Abbvie provides good benefits and takes an interest in their employees wellbeing.

Cons

Having worked for a variety of large pharmaceutical companies over many years, Abbvie takes governance and micro-management to new levels. Every project no matter how big or small has to be run through multiple governance committees before gaining approval. My efficiency and ability to complete projects has halved compared to what I was doing in my previous company as a result. Ultimately, it seems to come down to the fact that Abbvie doesn't value the skills and capabilities of the teams they employ. Note, i'm not suggesting no governance but rather streamlined to ensure work gets completed; at Abbvie I have taken 6 months to gain approval for a similar project to one I was empowered to approve in my previous role.

Explore other reviews about AbbVie

5.0
18 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

love the culture at AbbVie and they have great benefit packages.

Cons

Huge Territories and long hours

1.0
3 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Big Pharma Name Recognition: Having Allergan/AbbVie on your resume provides industry visibility.

Cons

Extreme Governance & Bureaucracy: Allergan is paralyzed by red tape. There are far too many governance layers just to get basic regulatory strategies vetted out. Flawed Compliance Infrastructure: Product approvals are heavily dependent on documentation. However, current records are completely inadequate. Management fundamentally fails to understand how these systems are interlinked. Unqualified & Absentee Leadership: The leader with department oversight completely lacks the expected knowledge and experience for this level, making her a massive liability. She is rarely in the office but knows exactly how to work the system. She aggressively pushes for unnecessary, in-person regulatory meetings solely to accumulate personal travel points rather than to mitigate actual business risks. Disastrous Transition Management: The leadership transition wreaked total havoc across the department. Negligent HR Department: HR shows zero interest in investigating why good talent is leaving the company. Alarming Job Security Signs: It is a massive red flag when a leader encourages employees to apply for roles entirely unrelated to their expertise, or receiving automated AI notifications about job openings outside your department.

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