It’s never a surprise these days to hear about a business facing tough times. Newspapers are pivoting to compete with the rest of the internet. Retailers are fighting against the power of online competition. On and on it goes.
You would think, though, that large pharmacy chains would have greater protection of their business and profits. After all, Americans are not getting fewer prescriptions filled, and medicine has to be the key to any successful pharmacy business, especially the largest ones.
Apparently not. The Washington Post reported that pharmacists and other employees at Walgreens and CVS, the country’s two largest drugstore chains, were organizing three-day walkouts this week, sending a message to their bosses that they expect better working conditions.
Spokesmen for both companies said Monday that few if any employees actually left their job. But the employee dissatisfaction is worth exploring, because some of its roots are surprising.
If anything occurred this week, it would be the second walkout at each company in the last few weeks. Both times, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and support staff have complained that drugstores lack enough employees to handle extra assignments like administering vaccines while keeping up with the demand to fill prescriptions.
Of course, the coronavirus pandemic played a role in the pharmacy problems. It caused some workers to quit, and the smaller staffs had the tasks of delivering covid-19 tests and vaccines added to their workload.
The Post further reported that pharmacy chains “also are struggling from increased competition, a shift to doing business online and an increase in crime at some brick-and-mortar stores, all of which have played a role in staffing shortages.”
Some chains are closing stores to save money, which seems an odd strategy, given Americans’ reliance on prescription drugs. But in addition to competition from online pharmacy retailers, more challenges are on the way from companies like Wal-Mart, which this week announced a $9 billion investment that will include larger pharmacies with private screening rooms for patients.
Pharmacy chains also are paying a price for all those opioid prescriptions they filled for so many years. Rite Aid, for example, filed for bankruptcy protection this month, citing declining sales, growing debt and the cost of defending lawsuits alleging that the company knowingly filled illegal drug prescriptions.
And, to be honest, customers may be part of the problem of keeping pharmacy workers.
The chief executive of the American Pharmacists Association said his members are reporting an increase in confrontations with angry customers, including threats of violence. It’s true — we have become an impatient lot, a trend that can only get worse when we have to wait more than a few minutes for our medicine.
Organizers of the walkouts want Walgreens and CVS to hire more pharmacy workers and increase pay. Which makes sense; the risk of error increases when someone filling a prescription is rushed or overworked. Getting an order badly wrong could put a patient’s life in danger.
The companies say they’re trying to hire more people, which is an opportunity for anybody interested in a career in this field. Be warned, though: Right now a pharmacy sounds like a high-stress workplace — just like many of today’s jobs.
It seems probable the pharmacy chains will figure out reasonable solutions to these problems. The question for employees is when.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
