Should I Discuss Salary with My Colleagues? : Jobs Near Me

You’ve probably thought about how your salary compares to your teammates doing the same type of work. Also, you might be tempted to compare just the numbers. In many companies, not only does a culture of silence exist when it comes to payments, but it may even be the rule, whether it is verbally communicated or written in employee rules and regulations.

For a long time, discussing salaries with colleagues was considered taboo. But in practice, the law allows you to talk to your co-workers about your salary.

The National Labor Relations Act in United States labor law has been in force for almost 90 years. The law says it will remove salary secrecy rules for most companies and most employees, allowing debate over salaries.

Why Employers Don’t Want You to Talk About Wages at Work

It’s understandably upsetting to find out that your co-workers who do the same job as you are making more money, right? Employers may not write down specific rules, but they say things like, “Discussing wages creates tension.” Keeping salaries secret allows employers to pay unfairly and saves companies money, but people remain in a culture of secrecy and unfairness. Due to ignorance, they are left without a fair raise.

To examine the relationship between salary transparency, turnover, and job satisfaction, a group of employees was selected in the University of California system and the researchers viewed a website listing salary for all employees. They found that employees with salaries above the median were not affected by site use, while employees with salaries below the median were less satisfied with their jobs and more likely to start looking for work. This result shows why employers have an incentive to keep wages secret when trying to pay them slightly below the median.

Companies that Ensure Wage Transparency

Only about 20% of companies publish salary transparency. But the trend is growing as more states require employers to list at least a salary range for open positions.

There are many companies that practice payroll transparency believes in paying their employees fairly. What would it look like if it were the same for your company? If you’re interested in working for a company that practices payroll transparency, you have a few options.

Buffer –This social media company has been fully transparent with its payroll since 2013.

Whole Foods – A national grocery store, is also practicing pay transparency.

Why You Should Talk About Wages

Pay secrecy fosters pay gaps and opportunities for discrimination, including maintaining the gender pay gap and underpaying people of color. Imagine the positive change you can make in your organization once you take off your mask and start being honest about your rewards. Whether you are paid more or less than your peers, it helps level the playing field and increase fairness across the board.

Also, from company’s point of view, understanding whether your employees are getting what they value is one of the most important factors in increasing job satisfaction and retention. If you are considering talking to a colleague about your full-time job’s salary to see if they are getting paid the same, be aware of your legal rights that may require you to discuss your salary without any hesitation.