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Charles River Laboratories

Engaged Employer

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.1

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,373 total reviews)
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Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,373 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
2.0
Feb 8, 2013

High Turnover For a Reason

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great Vacation time, pay isn't great but fair considering Reno's cost of living, the abundance of biology majors in this college town, and lack of other biotech companies. They could probably get away with paying less so I do give them credit for not short changing their employees.

Cons

The other reviews are spot on about nepotism and the work environment. Most people are trying to get into nursing school or constantly applying to other jobs. As others have said, they are the only biotech company in town so unless you are willing to move out of the area or change fields.... You are stuck here. Layoff happy. If you have a mortgage, a family, or are looking for something long term. This isn't the place for you. Sure the economy is on an upswing now but there will be times again in the future when it will do down. I’ve watched as people who have worked there for almost a decade are let go in layoffs. Terrible work schedule. Have kids? Don't even think about taking this job. Long hours are common and they happen with little or no warning and frequently (at least a couple times a week). I don't see how someone with children could balance this without having a stay at home spouse or an amazing day care that will keep your kids even when they are sick or keep your kids 3 hours later on last minute notice. As others have said, only those in higher positions are treated with respect. A lot of managers don't know what actually occurs in their department. Worse yet, there are managers who don't even know what they are doing. My department had a very, very high turnover rate. I counted, 66% of people in my department have left in the past few years. The remaining 33% are people that replaced them or people who aren't there by choice because they failed at attempts to get out. What those numbers say to me is that they have had to replace our whole department twice in the last few years. To me, that is a very high turnover rate.

4.0
Jan 24, 2013

One Charles River

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Even though Charles River is a global organization, there is a lot of emphasis on team work from site to site. Many of my colleagues that I interact with on a daily basis are all over the world (Canada, Europe, Asia, in the US but outside of Massachusetts) but we still work well as a team and support each other to achieve our goals. As a member of the marketing department, I have the pleasure of working with a variety of different groups within the company including operations, sales and the scientific staff. There is also a lot of room for growth within the company. I have seen a lot of my colleagues grow and move between departments when opportunities arise. The company does a great job of retaining employees.

Cons

It can be difficult at times to find a work life balance as the company expects more from its employees without increasing resources. However, this is not unique to Charles River, but a trend across industries and corporations.

Viewing 2320 - 2322 of 2,373 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,665 Charles River Laboratories reviews submitted anonymously by Charles River Laboratories employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Charles River Laboratories is right for you.