Results and well-being must be linked

"How many of you have tried to leave work thinking, 'I've been busy all day - but I'm not quite sure if what I did made a big dent in the pile of work tasks'?"

President Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen opened Finansforbundet in Nordea's 35th annual general meeting with a question. Judging by the applause, he was not alone. He continued:

"As a trade union, we notice that the stories about the pace of our working lives are taking up more and more space. And we at Nordea have no doubt that we live in a time of high speed and increasing performance demands."

Not against ambitions, but for a balanced working life

Kasper emphasized that Finansforbundet in Nordea is an important voice for a better balance.
"Let me be very clear here: Finansforbundet in Nordea is not against the management. We are not opposed to ambition. We are not against healthy outcomes. And we are certainly not against development. But we are in favour of a balanced working life. And we are in favour of a working life with a focus on well-being, ownership and commitment. In our view, it is 'the idea of something better'."

Welcome to new communities

Vice president Mette Balck Mejlby began her part of the oral report by talking about communities.

"We have many communities: the Nordea community. The communities of colleagues. Our large Finansforbundet in Nordea community. Because in a workplace, communities are exactly the difference between going to work – and belonging. In 2025, we have welcomed 283 new members to our community. Also welcome to many newly elected union and health and safety representatives. In total, we have about 160 who go the extra mile every day. You are our connecting lines. You are the ones who make the engine room hang together. Let's give them a huge applause," was the call and the answer was perhaps the biggest applause of the evening. 

The atmosphere in the packed hall was intense, and the trusted employee representatives were praised several times.

Fear or courage to be honest

Mette Balck Mejlby continued to talk about psychological safety and the increasing fear of daring to speak your mind, which many members and union representatives tell the board about.

"Fear isn’t noisy. It is quiet and settles in the body. And when fear moves in, the courage to be honest sometimes moves out. As I heard the other day: 'If you don't dare to say it out loud, you start whispering it in the corners.' And the nooks and crannies are a bad place to do business from. You can call it noise – I call it reality. What is not spoken out loud cannot be solved. It must be brought to light – not swept under the carpet like dust before a royal visit," she emphasized.

Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen wanted to acknowledge a positive development:

"For several years, we have talked about how management is a profession and that employees deserve managers with the best possible conditions. Good leadership requires training. Therefore, it is an important step that a management training programme has now been established at Nordea, where managers meet physically - across locations. This is an agenda that Finansforbundet in Nordea has been pushing for a long time," he said.

Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen used the management training as concrete proof that dialogue works. He also encouraged management to use the important knowledge, experience and ideas that employees possess.

"Then I am sure that Nordea will not only deliver excellent results - but that we will also have a workplace where we thrive and where it is great to be. For Finansforbundet in Nordea, the two things must be connected. It takes courage. It requires that we stand together," he emphasized.

Intense debate with nerve

In the debate, many members took the floor. The topics covered a wide range. Job salary, workplace risk assessment (WPA), AI, company collective agreements, contract employees and visibility were just some of the many topics touched upon. 

Employee well-being is measured in many ways. Internally at Nordea, employees respond to People Pulse, Finansforbundet has just conducted a well-being survey across the sector, where Nordea is not doing well, and the business media FinansWatch has published a survey of employee image, where Nordea as a workplace has fallen to 23rd place out of 25 measured banks.

The participants talked about the link between the reduced well-being and the increasing work pressure. The organisational changes in PeB and job losses in Technology have also played their part, with job security being threatened and more people finding it difficult to find meaning.

Working group to look at the future general meeting

How will the general meeting be held in the future?

This was a question both the board and members had asked themselves. The board announced that it will look at new ways of holding a general meeting - ways that involve the members to a greater extent and strengthen democracy and community.

"In this context, it is also fair to include finances as part of the considerations. Today, we spend up to half of our annual budget on holding a single event - the annual general meeting - which only reaches about 5–7 percent of the members. It is not an argument for saving – but an argument for asking ourselves whether we can use our resources in a way that provides value for more people," said Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen. 

The board will involve the members by establishing a working group to look at how general meetings can be held in the future.

Proposal for postal votes not approved

A group of union representatives from Technology had put forward a proposal to amend the bylaws that would make it possible to vote even if you were prevented from attending the general meeting.
The debate was intense, and the proposal received many votes, but not the two-thirds of the votes required to change the statutes.

Contested elections to become deputy

There were uncontested elections for the board. At the annual general meeting, Louise Have Lund, Louise Naur, Marianne Bjørn Winther and Ole Lund Jensen were all re-elected to the Board of Directors. President Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen and board members Jeppe Lermark Pieszak, Mette Balck Mejlby, Mona Svan and Natascha Bødker Feodor Nielsen were elected in 2025 for a two-year term and were thus not up for election this year. 

On the other hand, there was a contested elections to become deputy, with four candidates running for the three seats. Majbrit Lillesand Sørensen, Erik Børsting and Kenneth Bergh were elected as 1st, 2nd and 3rd deputies respectively.

Fried onions and silent disco

After the annual general meeting, there was everything from 2 1/2 kilos of fried onions to an overnight stay at Crowne Plaza to the lucky ones who got bingo. TV host, comedian and lecturer Jan Elhøj was the man who entertained the hall while he generously handed out the prizes.
The evening ended with silent disco to delight for the many dancing members, while others spent the time talking and having fun into the early hours.