When the Trade Union of Pharmacy Workers started collecting employees’ experiences, it became clear that most of the problems expressed were repeated regardless of the city or specific pharmacy.
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According to employees, although pharmacy work appears clearly organized from the outside, in reality, situations are increasingly encountered where one specialist has to perform the work of several employees, and rest and proper working conditions remain secondary, according to the trade union’s press release.
Employee Testimonies Reveal Systemic Problems
In pursuit of efficiency and reducing the number of employees per shift, an increasing workload falls on a single specialist. Today, a pharmacist often becomes not only a specialist providing pharmaceutical services but also a goods manager, administrator, and executor of many other daily functions.
According to the trade union, this is not just a matter of employee convenience. Constant rushing, physical and emotional fatigue, and the lack of opportunity to step away from the workplace can affect what is most important in the pharmaceutical field – attentiveness, quality consultation, and patient safety.
“The biggest problem is that pharmacy specialists have been talking about these working conditions for years, but real changes are happening too slowly. Today, we see not isolated complaints, but recurring systemic problems in many pharmacies. We need to talk not about individual cases, but about the organization of work across the entire sector,” says Žydrūnas Mineikis, chairman of the Trade Union of Pharmacy Workers.
Lunch Between Clients and Non-Stop Work
One of the most frequently cited problems by pharmacy specialists is the lack of real rest breaks.
Although lunch breaks are formally provided, employees’ experiences show that it is not always possible to take them in practice. When working alone in a pharmacy or during intense customer traffic, the opportunity to eat peacefully becomes difficult to realize.
Employees talk about hurried lunches, food reheated and cooled several times, brief moments between serving patients, or days when there is no opportunity to even briefly step away from the workplace.
When One Employee Becomes an Entire Team
Today, the work of a pharmacy specialist often extends beyond patient consultation and dispensing medication.
Between serving patients, employees receive and manage goods, check expiration dates, prepare orders, change prices, and perform administrative and other additional tasks.
Some specialists indicate that one employee has to perform the functions of several positions simultaneously, and the lack of auxiliary staff further increases the workload. In some pharmacies, one pharmacy specialist serves more than two hundred patients per day.
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“A pharmacy specialist makes daily decisions on which patients’ health depends. However, when a person works without a real opportunity to rest, eat, or even briefly step away from the workplace, we must admit that the risk increases not only for the employee but also for the patient. Fatigue is not just an employee problem – it is a patient safety issue,” emphasizes Ž. Mineikis.
Another problem raised by employees is prolonged standing.
Pharmacy specialists spend most of their shift on their feet. According to employees, in some pharmacies there is no real opportunity to sit down regularly – workplaces are not adapted for this, there is a lack of chairs, or due to the high work pace, there is simply no time to use them.
Rest Room or Warehouse?
According to trade union representatives, it is necessary to assess not only whether conditions are formally created at the workplace, but also whether the employee can actually use them.
Rest areas for employees also raise questions. Although most pharmacies have basic amenities – a refrigerator, microwave, or kettle – the room itself does not always ensure quality rest.
Pharmacy specialists report cases where rest areas are also used as warehouses or administrative premises – storing goods, documents, or even medicines collected from residents for disposal.
A separate challenge is the working environment in pharmacies located in shopping centers.
Constant noise, crowds of people, music, and various audible signals become an additional factor complicating work that requires precision and concentration.
“The trade union emphasizes – a pharmacy specialist is not just a salesperson. This is a specialist who advises patients on health, so working conditions must match this level of responsibility,” says Ž. Mineikis.
Real Changes Are Needed
According to the Trade Union of Pharmacy Workers, long-term employee overload and insufficient attention to working conditions contribute to professional burnout, health problems, employee turnover, and a shortage of specialists.
The trade union urges responsible institutions and employers to assess not only the conditions stipulated in documents but also the real daily lives of employees – whether they can truly rest, work safely, and perform their duties effectively.
“Pharmacy specialists are not asking for privileges. They are asking for basic things – the opportunity to rest, work in a safe environment, have enough colleagues on shift, and perform their work effectively. If we do not solve these problems now, we may face a shortage of specialists in the future,” states Ž. Mineikis, chairman of the Trade Union of Pharmacy Workers.
