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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.

Person explains why you should discuss your salary with co-workers, sparking debate
Business colleagues in meeting with female amputee sitting on desk - stock photo/Getty Images Twitter/ramblings_and

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." 

Office Workers talking to each other - stock photo/Getty Images

 



 

This spurred many to share their own experiences, and here are some of the top replies.

1. Trainee makes double



 

 

2. Bosses exploit your lack of knowledge



 

 

 

3. Got fired for talking about wages



 

 

4. My colleague should be getting paid more



 

 

 

5. Co-worker has way more experience



 

 

6. Team does 3x the work of a better-paid employee



 

 

7. Employees just want honesty



 

 

8. It's not unprofessional to talk about pay



 

 

 

9. Always negotiate your salary



 

 

10.  Helps understand why a person is paid less/more



 

 

11. Base salary must be the same



 

 

12. It's about being fairly compensated



 

 

13. My employees were making more than me



 

 

14. Performance is not the reason



 

 

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.

Office Manager Showing Colleague Something On Smartphone - stock photo/Getty Images

 

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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