Although U.S. full-time employees worked an average of 42.9 hours weekly last year, according to Gallup, that wasn’t true for most BioSpace LinkedIn poll respondents. A Karius HR executive discusses a few potential reasons for the longer workweeks.
Biopharma professionals have longer workweeks than the average U.S. employee, based on a recent BioSpace LinkedIn poll. Although U.S. full-time employees worked an average of 42.9 hours weekly in 2024, according to Gallup, 51% of BioSpace poll respondents put in at least 45 hours each week, and nearly a quarter hit 50 or more.
There could be a few reasons why biopharma professionals with longer workweeks put in the extra time, according to Stacy Solorio, chief people officer at Karius. For example, she told BioSpace, employees may feel compelled to work longer hours when there’s uncertainty related to potential layoffs or business challenges like failed clinical trials or regulatory setbacks. In these moments, she said, there’s often a strong drive to prove their value and indispensability to the organization.
A company’s business stage—preclinical, clinical, approval or commercial—could also be a factor, according to Solorio. As an example, she noted that at startups, there’s a real need to get things going, which could require longer workweeks.
“It may be disproportionate in the startup environment, where it’s going to be all hands on deck,” Solorio said.
Organizational culture could also drive biopharma professionals to put in more hours, according to Solorio. She noted that some leaders have an old-school mindset where the more someone works, the more valuable they are.
At Karius, setting rules for how employees manage their schedules is not part of the mindset, according to Solorio. The focus, she said, is on outcomes.
“It’s not a matter of how many hours you need to work,” Solorio explained. “It’s how are you going to achieve your goals.”
Finding Balance: Why Some Have Shorter Workweeks
Although most BioSpace poll respondents work at least 45 hours each week on average, 37% put in 40 to 44 and 12% even fewer: 35 to 39. It’s possible that some of these biopharma professionals are looking to improve their well-being. In a BioSpace LinkedIn poll last month, 55% of respondents said they have better work-life balance now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
That poll’s results align with Gallup’s findings about average weekly hours decreasing for U.S. full-time workers. Regarding why hours dropped from 44.1 in 2019 to 42.9 in 2024, the organization noted that employees, especially younger ones, now place a higher priority on their overall well-being.
Comments on a BioSpace survey that was part of the 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Employment Outlook report reinforce the importance of balancing personal and professional lives to some biopharma professionals:
- “Europe has it right, while the US overworks its people.”
- “Need more staff to reduce workloads and burnout.”
- “Companies need to focus on finding staff that want to work but also the company needs to provide a work life balance. Consistent overallocation leads to burnout.”
Gallup also addressed burnout, noting that it could be a major reason why full-time employees are working fewer hours. In its findings, the organization highlighted that previous research has found that an unmanageable workload is a contributing factor to this issue.
“This may help explain why employees report higher burnout (very often or always) as the number of hours they work rises above 45 hours per week,” Gallup noted.
The organization added that leaders and managers should view signs of burnout as a red flag, highlighting that employees who say they feel burned out very often or always are 74% more likely to look for another job. They’re also 32% less likely to say they feel great responsibility for the quality of products/services their organization offers to customers.
“In short, burned-out employees are unmotivated to serve customers and perform below their potential,” Gallup noted.
Age Matters: Who Works the Fewest Hours
When it comes to who puts in the fewest hours, Gallup found that the decline in full-time hours worked from 2019 to 2024 was more pronounced among younger employees. Those younger than age 35 cut their time by nearly two hours per person per week (from 43.6 to 41.8), while those 35 and older saw an average reduction of just under one hour (from 44.3 to 43.5).
“Over a year, that’s the equivalent of older employees taking an extra week off of work and younger employees taking two weeks,” Gallup noted.
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