Furious NAB contractor sends all-staff email attacking boss, workplace culture in response to pulse survey

A National Australia Bank workplace survey was disrupted this week after a furious staffer replied to a group email by telling all its recipients he had zero respect for his manager and would refuse to even share a meeting room with him.

The outburst emailed to sub-groups and financial advice staff came after NAB’s Wealth Division reminded staff to submit pulse survey feedback by June 23 as part of the bank’s strategy to improve its workplace.

“NAB does not value human capital at all, it’s all a pretence,” the internal emailer wrote. “Let’s see if this email will serve as a starting point of the ‘behavioural change’ that is needed, so that people feel valued rather than being ignored.”

In response to the complaint, a NAB spokesperson said the lender has more than 40,000 employees and is committed to creating a safe, respectful culture.

“We know we don’t always get it right. If a current or former employee has concerns or specific allegations we encourage them to raise them and they will be taken seriously,” the spokesperson said.

The complainant is a six-year contractor to NAB’s Wealth division and launched the broadside against a senior manager and the bank’s culture in an email that copies in NAB CRR (Customer Resolution and Remediation Department) ALL and NABAU-Commercial Services.

“I want it to be clear that I don’t have any respect for you in any way, shape, or form!” the staffer said of a senior leader.

“’I’m going to decline this meeting with you for Thursday 3pm June 25 2026 as I don’t want to be in the same room as you. You don’t deserve my time or skill as an analyst,” the contractor added.

The complainant also told the group email’s unwitting recipients his high moral and ethical standards made him feel obliged to speak out, particularly after he showed a high degree of professional commitment to NAB as a long-term contractor.

Bank culture in focus

Large corporates typically use the workplace surveys to gather staff feedback and monitor morale, engagement, or views on leadership. Employees usually file responses anonymously or confidentially on a separate online platform, and are not expected to share their responses openly in large group emails.

All of Australia’s big banks have been fronting the rise of external online forums such as Reddit, Glassdoor and Instagram-focused Aussie Corporate. These third-party online platforms allow hundreds of thousands of current or former staff to anonymously leave good or bad reviews of a workplace beyond the control of human resources managers, professional spinners, or media gatekeepers.

The fiery mix of online anger often includes misinformation, exaggeration, or the airing of personal grievances.

Last September, Australia & New Zealand Bank met a barrage of anonymous criticism from staff on social media platform Reddit over his plans to cut 4500 jobs.

The accusations included vulgar insults, inferences of incompetence, and running commentaries that mocked afternoon all-staff meetings.

At the time ANZ declined to comment on the forums.

NAB is also the subject of a Reddit thread where anonymous employees comment on the bank’s culture and their workplace experiences.

In June, The Nightly revealed text messages between NAB staff showed a separate manager allegedly threw a quantity of the drug cocaine at the feet of other staff, after spotting police arrive during a late-night Christmas party at North Sydney’s Greenwood Hotel in 2022.

The manager allegedly involved is understood to be no longer with the bank and the incident not reported at the time.