Commercial Bank Employees’ Satisfaction Soars Despite Unicredit’s Takeover Plans
Employees at Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest bank, have expressed a significant increase in job satisfaction, according to a November 2024 employee survey reported by the Handelsblatt, a German business daily. The survey results show that more employees have gained confidence in the bank’s future and are willing to recommend it as an employer to friends and family, compared to previous surveys.
After the change in leadership from Manfred Knof to Bettina Orlopp, employees also rate the bank’s management more highly. A whopping 66% of respondents trust the top management in making the right decisions for the bank, a 23-percentage point increase from a similar survey in summer 2023.
Fifty-six percent of employees now have confidence in the bank’s future, a five-percentage point increase from the previous year.
“The external developments have fortified the team’s cohesion,” said Sabine Mlnarsky, Commerzbank’s human resources director, to the Handelsblatt. Even the flexible home office rules have had a positive impact. “It has paid off to swim against the tide and not tighten our rules like other companies did, unlike ours.” On average, Commerzbank employees worked from home around 2.5 days a week – “and not a day more or less than most other companies’ employees.