Glaxo Blocks Employee Access To CafePharma
24 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // May 13th, 2010 // 10:35 am
We realize that many people consider CafePharma to be the equivalent of an electronic bathroom wall. To some, though, it can be an interesting source of information (and amusement, depending upon your station in life and frame of mind). In any event, many drugmaker execs find the site off-putting, given that inside info is often leaked and discussed, and some remarks are, well, disparaging.
So GlaxoSmithKline this week decided to block access to employees using company computers. We have not done a survey to ask which, if any, other drugmakers have taken similar action, but the move should not come as a surprise, given that Deirdre Connelly, who heads the North American Pharma unit, three years ago took a shot at CafePharma as an outlet “for people who don’t have the courage to speak out with their ideas.”
Not surprisingly, CafePharma loyalists are outraged at what one described as a move by the “Glaxstopo.” Wrote another: “How assinine (sic) is that move on their part? I am one of the folks from home office who read CF (sic) every now and then from work just to get the real pulse of what the sentiment in the field is because I know that sales leadership tells us what they think we want to hear. So I read it and never posted. I also read the news headlines because they were pretty current and very informative.”
Of course, Glaxo is within its right. Here is what a Glaxo spokeswoman wrote us:
“Employees understand that use of the company computer at work is intended for company business. Chatting on Cafepharma is not company business but if employees wish to do this at home or in their off hours, they can continue to do that. There are a number of vehicles for open conversation within the company including an internal blog on which employees, including senior executives and the company president, are engaged. We also encourage face-to-face interaction at events such as town halls and regular lunches with employees and executives.”
pharmavet
Anyone dumb enough to use a work computer (with an ip address) to access Cafepharma ain’t too smart to begin with. All Internet is monitored, not just CP. In a former company of mine, 24 people were walked out the door on a single day for viewing internet porn.
Chris
Other companies are more strict and prohibit any use of Cafepharma at all - including on personal time.
harpy
how does that work, Chris? it’s unenforceable
Batman
Sounds almost like a bunch of Nazi’s when they start restricting one’s ability to read something. Posting might be onething, but reading?
Fid
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
This has made my day.
Cafe Pharma is a great insight into the mechanics of GSK.
Much of what is written can be taken with a pinch of salt but there are some real gems in some of the threads.
I bet my left nut Glaxo would love to have that power over bloggers.
Shows how they wish to suppress rep grievances… as well as their raw data from the drugs they manufacture.
Bad move on their part me thinks.
It will just infuriate those who have been letting off stream - they will just go home at the end of their shift and write from the comfort of their home computer.
GSK just don’t get it, do they.
Fid
Mr. Experience
I have been reading CafePharma for quite a long time.
There is a definite thread as to when the most posts (chatter) are made. During the day, the posts are very few. After business hours, it is very, very busy.
Conclusion: Most wait until they are off work.
pharmavet
This answer works for me. Cafepharma postings have been ruled to be legal documents. See link.
http://shearlingsplowed.blogspot.com/2009/05/judge-cafepharma-postings-may-be.html
Justice in MI
My favorite part of CP is when the reps trash each others’ products and promo claims. You can learn a lot about what’s actually going on.
I’ve always assumed companies sent in some of their folks specifically to go after the competition.
I still assume it.
Concerned
This is so sad, especially the part about employees ability to use internal resources. Several months back several people did use an internal blog site to make constructive suggestions about the companies performance improvement plan. Did the company embrace the constructive ideas or even encourage them? No. No one has heard again from these folks - more than likely they have been let go or will be in this layoff or the next.
I agree that people should not use company time to view cafepharma but for the spokesperson to present the perception that respective disagreement is encouraged is completely untrue - just go ask the non-anonymous GSK bloggers.
M. Black
While I believe that “Cafe Farm-Waste” is nothing but an inflated image of a flying pig that contaminates the cybersea in which we swim, yes, companies have “the right” to block access to anything they want. Let’s be clear, Blog-o-Lot brethren, that whatever you access from work generates an audit trail of sites that you visit, and those of pinheaded nature will use such tools to make judgements of you, especially if for whatever their reason(s), they would rather you quit than they have to get rid of you.
Get a smartphone, and when you have a break, (lookup labor laws on that) pull out your phone, and read whatever you’d like.
I’m all for doing whatever you’d like (within limits, of course), but they have the right to block your access. What’s interesting to me, is why Glaxo, and why Cafe Farm-Waste? Access to ANY site can damage a companies network via a number of ways…
MB
Lichtstrasse 35
Company computers are owned by the company that provides them and they have every legal right to control how they are used. However, there’s a way around everything, and any proxy sites like kproxy.com or megaproxy.com will facilitate the folks at GSK or any other company seeing and saying whatever they want on CafePharma or anywhere else…unless GSK starts blocking all the proxy sites too.
Sara
what do the reps expect? don’t use your work computer to see the website with people venting about the comapny. reps should know better. company cell phones & computers are just that–company property
pharmagossip
My take:
http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2010/05/lolpharma-contd-toilet-wall-at-glaxo.html
Lisa Van Syckel
LMAO…Ed, Did you get a chance to ask GSK if they’ve banned employees from visiting Pharmalot’s Corporate Campus.
likeitis
Whistleblowers don’t get their hard evidence from the internet, blogorama, or even cafe pharma. Looks like securing all the wrong *exits* to me. Think again guys…..
ex-FDA
Pharmavet,
Getting fired for porn would never happen at the FDA.
Just look at the SEC they’re now trying to retaliate against the SEC IG who reported it.
Viewing Pharmalot and Pharmagossip are another matter.
See no evil.
Hear no evil.
Definitely never document any evil.
Chris
I wonder if the CP ban is going to facilitate the creation of a group on Facebook?
Whistler
Sounds alot like Glaxo is trying to force reps-employees into only listening to Glaxo Ideas. Seems to me we heard this before somewhere. Didn’t the Government take away the privilege to read at one time and weren’t there many stories written about that same thing?
Sounds like Glaxo is trying to HIDE something and they are taking their Ball and playing elsewhere. ****You would really think that if they spent more time trying to make their company the Best Company to Work for then they really wouldn’t receive the negative comments or even care about those comments!
Memo to Glaxo: Welcome to the 21st century, glad you could come by and while your here grow-up, grow some balls and fix things for the better!
M. Black
Successful whistleblowers get their information from the truth. Hard, factual, truth. Those that “pretend” to blow the whistle, or better worded distort or just plain invent facts in order to blow the whistle should be debarred from ever working in pharma again.
MB
WB
Most unsuccessful whistleblowers get their information from the hard, factual, truth also.
Often times no one will listen.
Face it. There’s no profit for the lawyers in preventing death or injury.
Nor I dare say for the justice department either. The lawyers are only interested when there are penalities. That goes for DOJ too. It looks much better for their careers to have gotten a major fine or conviction than saying I prevented 10,000 people from being killed.
The latter can be argued with the former can’t.
Former Pharma Marketing Director
Hmm this reminds me I haven’t read CP for quite some time….Hey wait a minute..Gee look at the free publicity GSK generated for CP by this announcement…
GSK Zombie
What’s all the fuss?
GSK folks can simply post from home (using a proxy).
Let’s not make everything a big deal.
Chas
Who cares, I am surprised it isn’t wide spread. Using the company computer to read and comment on Cafepharma should be banned. Do it from home, why use the company laptop for anything but company business, you are asking to be fired.
Jim Lynchehaun
I’ve had an ongoing dispute with Bristol-Myers. Their tactics in trying to suppress the truth are quite different to Glaxo’s. Restricting access to CP during working hours seems a fairly innocuous ruling.