Working in a team whilst working with other people isn’t always easy. There are many dynamics going on at the same time which could cause friction and conflict. Every work place is different so it’s down to the manager to decide if talking about salary at work is allowed or not.
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If you’re wondering whether you can talk about salary at work, the answer is yes.
It’s important to know what other people in your position are earning and how that fits in with your own earnings. If you’re not sure what your salary should be, there are ways of finding out without violating any laws or company policies.
Your company may have a policy against discussing salaries with other employees, but if they don’t have one, it’s okay to talk about them. You may not want to discuss exact numbers, but it’s okay to ask a coworker what theirs is, and tell them yours as well. That allows you both to get a general sense of where you stand in relation to each other and how much more money either of you might need from their employer in order to feel satisfied with their paychecks.
Can you talk about salary at work
Yes, you can talk about salary at work.
You can talk about salary at work.
You probably already know that you don’t want to be the only one in your office who doesn’t know what their co-workers are making, but there are other benefits to talking about salary as well. Talking about salary can be a good networking opportunity, since it shows that you value transparency and teamwork. It can also help someone feel less alone and more empowered by learning they aren’t the only person struggling with their finances or negotiating with their employer.
You can have a conversation about salary once you’ve been hired.
You can have a conversation about salary once you’ve been hired.
You will likely discuss salary with HR, not your coworkers.
Ask HR to give you the range they offer, not the specific amount they plan to offer you. This way, if they tell you that their range is $55,000 to $65,000 per year and then end up offering $55K, there won’t be any hard feelings if it’s less than what someone else received during their interview process (and vice versa).
Also ask them whether or not there would be room for negotiation when it comes time for you to sign on the dotted line. It’s always smart to get as much information as possible before making any rash decisions; anything from “we don’t negotiate” all the way up through “we’ll make an exception for our best candidates” could come into play here.
You shouldn’t share detailed information with coworkers.
You should never share details about your salary with coworkers.
First, there’s no reason for you to do so. Second, there are several reasons why it would be unwise:
- Your coworkers may not be trustworthy. They may talk about this information in a way that you don’t expect and that makes you uncomfortable. They may also misuse the information or fail to keep it confidential, resulting in a loss of trust between yourself and your company (or even between co-workers).
- Your coworkers may not be reliable. You can’t assume that they’ll always have accurate information about your pay—or if they do have accurate information, you can’t count on them sharing it with others correctly so as not to reveal more than necessary (and thus break any confidentiality agreements). Even worse is when someone misunderstands what exactly they’re being told by another employee and spreads misinformation around the office based on their faulty assumptions; this could lead to some serious embarrassment later down the road!
Even if you hear something, know it doesn’t mean it’s true.
There are many variables that determine pay, and people don’t always know their full compensation package. As a result, it’s very common for people to hear something about someone being paid more or less than they are—and then believe it to be true.
For example, if you’ve been at your company for a while and a new hire comes in at a higher base salary than yours (without knowing their full compensation package), they may think you’re making less money than them even though that’s not true. They’ll assume this because they know how much they make as a starting salary, but don’t know what other perks come along with the job—like bonuses or stock options.
In fact, there are so many factors involved when determining how much someone makes that any information about salaries should be taken with a grain of salt (or two).
Share your story but don’t be negative.
- Share your story, but don’t be negative.
- Be positive.
- Talk about salary in a professional way.
It’s good to talk but not necessary to be the one who shares.
It’s not always easy to know when you should talk about salary at work. Some people feel it’s good to share their opinion on the topic, while others prefer not to. Talking about your salary can be stressful and risky, so it’s important to think through the situation before deciding whether or not you’re comfortable doing so.
I’m one of those people who likes sharing my opinion—but only when I’m comfortable doing so. For example, one time during a meeting with my manager, we were discussing our overall company pay raise policy for 2019 and beyond. The conversation turned towards how much we wanted our own raises (which is pretty standard in an office setting). My manager asked everyone in the room what they thought about this policy as well as how much money each person would like their next raise by (we were still early enough in our careers that he was hoping for some realistic numbers). When he got around to asking me what I thought about this new policy he announced his plan: “So if we implement this new thing here…” And then just paused after saying “here” because he didn’t finish his sentence—the awkward silence was deafening! He clearly wanted me to finish his sentence for him but wasn’t sure how direct he could be without coming off like an asshat boss who doesn’t trust his employees’ ability to do their job correctly without dictating every tiny detail of every small task needed for them get done correctly…or something along those lines anyway 🙂 After trying several different versions on how exactly one might phrase such a question without sounding too harsh toward someone who works under them I finally mentioned something along these lines: “I think it would be helpful if there was more transparency around compensation across all levels of seniority within each department.”
