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Eli Lilly No Longer a Top Company for Working Women?

Sep 19, 2009 » by Cali & Jody

For the past 14 years, Working Mother magazine has put Eli Lilly on their list of Top 100 Best Companies. One more year and they’ll be eligible to join the “Hall of Fame” which includes other pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline and Merck.

But we wonder if their status is in jeopardy given the fallout of the company’s recent move to downsize. According to the Indianapolis Star’s website, Eli Lilly has abolished flexible work schedules. That’s it. Done.

Here’s the rationale as delivered by spokesperson Carla Cox:

“Time goes by, and things sort of morph into what necessarily wasn’t expected,” she said. “We have really important work to do here, and we want to make sure we get this done in the most effective way. We’re really trying to make sure we are focused on the business, that people are here when we need them here and that they are here during the core business hours.”

First, we empathize with Eli Lilly having to cut its workforce.  We understand that laying people off and making budget cuts is never easy.

But let’s also take that statement one piece at a time and look at all the assumptions, biases, and wrong-headed thinking that conspire to make this one bad decision.

Time goes by, and things sort of morph into what necessarily wasn’t expected

We agree. The global economy in the 21st century looks like nothing anyone ever expected. The businesses that adapt to the new realities are the ones that are going to succeed. Not the ones that go turtle. Do you honestly think your shareholders want to see you try to turn back the clock?

We have really important work to do here

Classic work-as-a-place-you-go bias. The “important” work happens in an office during traditional work hours. Not sure what kind of work those weirdos with flexible schedules are doing, but it certainly isn’t important.

We want to make sure we get this done in the most effective way

Do you mean effective or familiar? No question having everyone in their cube is a comforting sight. A manager can walk the aisles and if she sees everyone at work, then they must be working, right?

We’re really trying to make sure we are focused on the business

Focus is key. You can only focus on work when you’re at work. You know, that place with the endless meetings, constant interruptions, office politics and other distractions.

That people are here when we need them here

As managers, we’d rather have you be available than effective. You need to be here to answer our questions, respond to our fire drills and cover our asses.  Heaven forbid you get the freedom to plan and execute the work you were hired to do.

That they are here during the core business hours

Oh, that core! That strong, vital, powerful core. Everybody knows all the best solutions, ideas and innovations happen between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Where have you been?

We don’t wish any company ill, but we hope Eli Lilly takes a hit for this. We also hope that all you good people in the “Best of” business take note. We have a feeling we’re going to see a lot more companies betray their workforces like this. Don’t give any of them a free pass.

  • http://www.robertstinnett.com Robert Stinnett

    I had a discussion with a friend regarding Eli Lilly and I said that even in the roughest of economies, the truly star performers (the innovators that make a business grow) can get jobs elsewhere. They will be the first to go from Eli Lilly because why stick around a place that obviously doesn’t value employees?

    Next, the minute the economy improves slightly you’ll see the second mass exodus of folks who head off to better, brighter companies.

    Soon all you are left with is the deadweight that should have been gone years ago. The people that will drag a company down and into obsolescence. The people that love to call the meetings and other nonsense all the time to “show they are working”.

    • Cali & Jody

      @Robert Stinnett – we think you’ve done a great job predicting the phases of turnover at Eli Lilly. Will be very interesting to watch as the future unfolds there…

  • Concerned Employee

    The analysis you made about the Eli Lilly situation in your blog was enlightening. It appears to me that the company had some flexibility in place for the employees, but it lacked a philosophy to make it last. When Management said, “We have really important work to do here, and we want to make sure we get this done in the most effective way. We’re really trying to make sure we are focused on the business, that people are here when we need them here and that they are here during the core business hours.” It is very confusing. It looks like the employees were not doing their jobs and Management wanted to rectify something they did wrong; so to increase productivity, they had to go back to square one.
    Eli Lilly does not realize the damage that this inflicts on the morale of the employees. That action will be very costly. To regain the employees’ trust and loyalty will take a long time.

  • Lily

    Cali and Jody – I agree with your take on the Eli Lilly situation. How in the world does a company of that (supposed) stature expect to downsize the company by 1/3, expect those who are left to absorb the added responsibilities, and then cut off the only benefit that motivated them to be productive in the first place? One would think that Eli Lilly would have gone full-on ROWE to retain the employees they have left, rather than to have regressed to the dark ages of core hours and presence-based “work”. Huh! We’ll see how that works out for them.

  • chabuhi

    I think it’s the shareholders’ “fault” — I believe the type of people who (can) make significant investments in companies, and take their ownership seriously, are the very sort of people who think employees should just collect a paycheck and shut up. These are the sorts of people who have incurable Stockholm Syndrome with traditional work environments.

    You aren’t ever going to convince them that employees deserve to have lives, they have the power of the shareholder, so no matter how short-sighted we think that is, that’s what we’re up against.

  • http://blog.conmergence.com Ed Dodds

    @Lily, all – until stock holders band together and punish C-Suites who do not allow a “say on pay” and give a “Go for ROWE” in a VERY PUBLIC (media pays attention to) WAY, the situation will not change. Think about it – how often does a CEO have to produce specific metrics to justify his (statistically it’s a he) salary, bonuses, perks in a transparent manner? That’s exactly what you are asking a ROWE-enabling middle manager to do. Until the Wall Street double standard ceases between folks with C’s in their title and the folks who actually produce value add and they are compensated in the same manner with the same kinds of targets, it is illogical to assume a positive climate toward ROWE. Work-Life is a holistic (yes, cultural and political as well as economic) thing akin to the originally laudable goal of a 40 hour work week and the vote for women. Until ROWE becomes a true movement — well, I’m not holding my breath.

    However, over at the FCC National Broadband Policy site – http://broadband.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/15130-5251

  • Concerned employee

    I understand that the achievement of a total ROWE movement is very difficult. The traditional way of doing business is going to linger for a long time. But after six years of hard work by these two women –Cali and Jody – we are seeing results. Personally , I think that the movement is growing very fast. Stockholders are going to shop around and see which company is productive. Their objective is to make money and not to try to change the culture of business. Cali and Jody are seeding their ROWE philosophy in many places and the results are there forever. That is the key to their success. That change is IRREVERSIBLE. Nobody is going to dare to change that environment because once ROWE is in place, managers, employees, and stockholders love it because ROWE=Production= Profit.
    Going back to Eli Lilly, they had just a “flavor of the month” situation and I think it was kept only to maintain a good PR status. It appears that they were not connected at all.

    ROWE is growing and becoming a way of the future – let’s keep the momentum going!

  • http://www.robertstinnett.com Robert Stinnett

    It’s funny how that we know nowadays it is innovation that drives succcess. We have history books filled with failed companies that were once “on top of the world” but failed miserably because they stopped being proactive and started being reactive, or worse yet didn’t react at all.

    Instead of challenging employees, way too many companies try to keep employees stifled and any new ideas are quickly estinguished. I’ve worked at places where people were genuinely afraid of bringing new ideas forth because management would ridicule them for thinking outside the box.

    The past year has shown us how truly broke things are in our society, and in our workplaces. Sure enough, instead of taking this as an opportunity to grow and reinvent themselves, several companies are using this down period to “put the screws” to workers because, after all, where else are they going to go, right?

    However if you look around there are companies that continue to thrive and grow even in those down times. Companies that don’t just say they value their employees, but they actually mean it. Companies like Google, Toyota and even Microsoft. When the times get tough they know that their employees are going to do what is necessary to help them survive — and when times are good they know it is because of the contribution the employees make.

    Our company is on the verge of going ROWE and I can’t tell you how excited I am. I know its going to be a long process, but all good things take time. It’s been a long journey, and we aren’t out of the storm yet — but we do see the silver lining.

  • https://twitter.com/SameReality Michael Barata

    Yes! Congrats and thanks to C&J!!!! Keep up the much needed push….

    Found this article you all may enjoy….

    http://bit.ly/4dKEw7

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