Person explains why you should discuss your salary with co-workers, sparking debate
When co-workers discussed their salaries, some found their juniors and trainees made more than them.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 28, 2022. It has since been updated.
It's always a touchy subject to talk about your salary with your co-workers. No company wants employees to talk about their salaries because they'll find out that some of them are being paid less for doing the same job. It is a divisive topic with many claiming that sharing their salary with colleagues helps some realize they are being paid less and thus enables them to demand more from their boss. A tweet from @rambings_and about a co-worker sharing their salary opened a discussion on the topic yet again and some of the replies were eye-opening. “Found out I was making 20% more than my coworker so we spent lunch drafting an email for her to renegotiate her contract. Talk about your pay!!” they tweeted. One person replied, "Talk about your salary. Being secretive is what companies count on."
Found out I was making 20% more than my coworker so we spent lunch drafting an email for her to renegotiate her contract. Talk about your pay!!
— sara (@ramblings_and) March 21, 2022
This spurred many to share their own experiences, and here are some of the top replies.
1. Trainee makes double
Once upon a time, my husband, a Black male with 20 years of experience, was making $35 an hour while training another clinician with almost zero clinical experience.
— Dr. Dee Knight (@DrDeeKnight) March 22, 2022
She, a white female, was making $70 an hour to learn from him.
Compensation disparities like this are unjust.
🗣 https://t.co/RXxUd3VFjp
2. Bosses exploit your lack of knowledge
Same here! She's actually the person who trained me! Only difference is I was interviewed by a woman who told me how much to ask for (almost double what I would've). Bosses take advantage of our lack of knowledge, so talk to your coworker!
— sara (@ramblings_and) March 21, 2022
3. Got fired for talking about wages
I was making more than my coworkers despite them all having harder duties and more experience than me (I never bragged, I felt so bad for them, but do I ask for a demotion for fairness?) when I told them they should be getting paid more my boss fired me lol
— GraveSpawn (@GraveSpawn117) March 22, 2022
4. My colleague should be getting paid more
I once politely argued that my coworker should be earning more than me because not only did we do the same job, but she also got cross trained for other positions and often did rollover work. She had more value than me. I respect that. Boss told me "that's not how it works"
— Michele Long (@michelelong1) March 22, 2022
5. Co-worker has way more experience
I need to get one of my co-workers to do that. She has been here way longer than me, has more degrees and certifications than I do and yet I make at least 10k a year more than her.
— Antifa Technical Support (@Zer0mass) March 21, 2022
6. Team does 3x the work of a better-paid employee
My worst employee walked in bragging about making more than the rest of our team bc of her degree. (I’m her supervisor but pay is set by my boss). They do 3x her work so I’ve drafted a plan to fire her and divvy up her salary between them. HR and my boss approved lol.
— Fatt Catt Matt (@fatt_matt) March 22, 2022
7. Employees just want honesty
Lol employees just want literal honesty. You firing someone because they discuss pay is literally illegal.
— Mikey (@aguilar749) March 22, 2022
8. It's not unprofessional to talk about pay
Its not unprofessional to talk about pay. That's what companies what you think to keep you quiet and complicit.
— basic witch kirby 🧙🏻♀️🌟💫 (@ehhmj) March 22, 2022
9. Always negotiate your salary
Negotiate your salary. Always ask for more than what's offered. Talk about your salary. Being secretive is what companies count on. I learned recently a former colleague made far less than me & less than a man on the team. https://t.co/4qkSFOAFN8
— KD (@Fly_Sistah) March 22, 2022
10. Helps understand why a person is paid less/more
Why not tell them what you made at their stage and explain that you make more due to experience? most people understand that… it STILL gives BOTH of you a better look at how badly youre being underpaid
— jordan (@Jordan_tol) March 22, 2022
11. Base salary must be the same
That's what bonuses and stimuli are for, base salary for the same role must be the same so those bonuses mean smthing.
— KΛΙSΞR KURZBΞINΞ (@kurzbeineAD) March 22, 2022
12. It's about being fairly compensated
If a coworker is being payed more for the same job, then you are being underpayed for no reason. It's not about status, it's about being fairly compensated for the work you're doing.
— Jack Hurley (@Hurleyj44) March 22, 2022
13. My employees were making more than me
Absolutely! I was promoted to a manager position and discovered my employees were all making more than I was! I had seniority over 2 of them.
— BluePrairie (@KathySchoenwan1) March 28, 2022
14. Performance is not the reason
Why should someone be paid less because they haven't had the same access to education and experience? It's the same role, and I'm making a wild guess that in the cases where women and minorities are making significantly less, performance is NOT the reason.
— Hot Spoon Trick Proponent (@Jomegsallan) March 22, 2022
15. Admin doesn't want you to discuss pay
In one Reddit thread, people discussed whether it was appropriate to share their salary with co-workers. "Yeah, wage transparency is important to help prevent wage disparity," wrote one user. Another added, "Absolutely! If your employer tries to discourage talking about your pay, you need to leave." One user commented, "I have no reason to hide such things. I regularly talk about salaries with my coworkers. We do it to make sure everything is in order and if our boss gets pissy we inform the union and they do the rest." One person argued that it could create unnecessary tensions at work. "A coworker earning exponentially higher than the rest has all to lose by sharing. Jealousy and being targeted will happen. Also, every other coworker will be asking for a raise, leadership will end up despising you. I've seen this happen live, and this person literally got shitted on in all leadership meetings afterward even though he was a high performer. If you're up and coming, and your peers are also up and coming, then it makes sense to share." they wrote.
Many argued that unions helped make a level playing field. "Where I work we all know basically how much everyone makes. It’s because we are union so the pay rates are the same for everyone, with the only difference being how much you work. We also know how much management makes because none of us would want that ‘promotion,’" wrote one user. One person argued that it exposed that people of color and women were paid considerably less. "I do think it definitely benefits the companies at the expense of workers, particularly women and people of color," they wrote.
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