Volunteering at Nordea in Poland – How we support the community and foster empathy

At Nordea, every employee can dedicate 16 hours per year to volunteer activities, and these hours are fully sponsored by Nordea. Social programmes run by Nordea employees in Poland include initiatives supporting children, women returning to the workforce, parents trying to maintain balance and partnership in parenting, individuals in difficult life situations, refugees and education for digitally and financially marginalised individuals and children.

These numerous initiatives undertaken by Nordea employees, both bottom-up and through the Employee Resource Groups (ERG) at Nordea, cover a wide range of topics from gender balance, age diversity, interculturalism and skills diversity. While the topics may vary, they all share a common denominator – engaged employee volunteers!

Employee engagement in social programmes also offers an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the bonds between colleagues, to feel part of a team and to have a real impact on others’ lives. Volunteering not only allows employees to step away from their daily tasks and be open to others’ perspectives but it also enables them to put the Nordea’s D&I values into practice through concrete actions and solutions.

Thanks to employee involvement in cooperation with four non-governmental organisations, in Poland Nordea currently has around 160 active volunteers.

Why volunteering important to us

Volunteering is not only about helping others but also about internal growth, building empathy and understanding different life situations, cultural, gender, intergenerational diversity as well as fair treatment of everyone within the organisation.

It is, among other things, thanks to this approach that Nordea has a gender-equal distribution in Poland – even at the leadership level. Nordea clearly communicates guidelines for supporting transgender individuals, equal parental leave for both parents, including same-sex families. By employing people of various nationalities, Nordea knows how to effectively prepare employees to work in a multicultural environment, for example via unconscious bias training.

Social programmes in Poland: 

• Shared values in collaboration with Share the Care Foundation

  In Poland we have joined forces with Share the Care Foundation to promote parental equality. The Foundation advocates for a family partnership model that allows parents to thrive in all areas of life while giving their children the chance to form close bonds with both parents. It supports employers in building an organisational culture conducive to gender equality, where parental equality is an essential element. Thus, it encourages sharing parental leave as a first step towards partnership. Nordea actively supports this mission, helping parents maintain balance and partnership in parenting, and Nordea’s employees play a key role in creating an inclusive culture. More and more men at Nordea are opting for parental leave. Nordea is keen to maintain this trend and, through joint efforts with the Foundation, aims to influence a shift in thinking about childcare. By encouraging men to take parental leave, the company directly contributes to gender equality, challenging the stereotype that childcare is solely the woman’s domain. A crucial part of this change process will be the direct involvement of the Nordea’s employees, especially fathers, who will soon share their stories of childcare during parental or paternity leave, demonstrating that dads are just as capable caregivers as moms.

• Supporting digitally excluded children and families in need

  Together with the Hakersi foundation, Nordea supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds by helping them develop digital and financial skills. As part of the programme, volunteers organise mentoring sessions, technology courses and inspirational meetings for children from orphanages, helping them build competencies needed for their future careers. This year Nordea employees also engaged in the charity bike ride through the Balkans. Nordea in Poland is also involved in assisting refugees from Ukraine and Belarus, helping them acclimatise to life in Poland. Volunteers provide support with Polish language learning, job search, financial management and even applying for public benefits. These efforts help refugees feel more confident in their new environment while also bringing Nordea employees closer to different cultures and challenges. Employees in Poland are also supporting temporary shelter for people who have experienced domestic violence where Nordea volunteers organise workshops for adults on topics related to financial security and relaxation. Creative workshops, dance and games are prepared for children to help them momentarily escape from their difficult life situations.

• Mentoring for women

  The “Nordic Mentoring” programme supports women returning to the workforce after a break due to motherhood or child-rearing. Mentoring offered by Nordea employees provides real professional and personal support that helps participants rebuild their career competencies and confidence. This year we had 14 engaged mentors from Nordea who supported mentees focusing on empowerment but also operations, financial crime prevention and technology.