When reading reviews of Walgreens it is important to know that the company has gone through radical restructuring over the past few years. The most dramatic slashing of budgets occurred about a year or so ago. This must be kept in mind when reading favorable reviews written before 2013.
Walgreens continually stacks more tasks, more services, and slower equipment on the staff (transactions now take two to three times longer thanks to Balance Rewards, email addresses, donation prompts, receipt preference prompts) all while cutting staff budgets lower and lower. The company is now running on at most, half the staff it had just a few years ago.
For over a year the "off-the-record" company policy was that management would pressure employees to drive to other locations before or after their shift to pick up supplies. This violation of labor laws was an attempt to save money by not ordering items from the distributor. As another reviewer pointed out, employees are frequently bullied by management when they must take a sick day. Overtime is banned under threat of "a one on one meeting in the district office." When an employee is out sick there is absolutely no way to fill that shift.
The stores are so under-staffed that I have heard numerous employees complain about stress related ailments: chest pains, insomnia, heart palpitations. And these complaints have mostly come from pharmacists! Keep in mind that these are the people who are checking to make sure you don't accidentally receive the wrong medication.
There is virtually no room for advancement. Earlier this year the assistant manager positions were eliminated. Instead, the company rolled out a new position called Shift Leads, who do the exact same work, for far less pay of course. Pharmacy technician pay has been capped at a rate that is lower than most hospital pharmacies start at.
I've never seen a company with morale as low as it is these days at Walgreens. Do yourself a favor and take this into serious consideration before accepting a job here.
