Should Your Colleagues Know How Much You Are Paid?

Before you even consider discussing pay rates with your colleagues, you should check your company’s policy regarding this. I know of organizations where it is against company policy to discuss salaries at all. While this may seem stupid, it’s wise to be quite clear on what’s acceptable and what’s not before you go asking colleagues their salaries, or telling them yours.

However, a lot of people do prefer to be open about pay rates, especially if they suspect they are being paid differently from other people in the same position or with the same level of experience that they have. Provided there are no company policies preventing people from doing so, sometimes openness about pay can lead the way to fairer conditions for all employees.

It is true, though, that knowing how much your colleagues are being paid and vice versa is not always a positive thing. For a start, if either party is being paid a lower wage for the same work, there will no doubt be a level of resentment, either against the higher earning colleague or against the company or employer that set the wages. Of course, there may be any number of reasons behind the difference in salaries, some of which may be quite legitimate.

Problems do occur when the difference in pay rates is quite clearly discriminatory. There should be some clarity in payrates within organizations to avoid the possibility of discrimination.

In general, before discussing salaries with your colleagues, it’s important to understand company policy and how pay is determined. Some people will earn more simply because they have put in more time and effort than their colleagues, or have made a more significant contribution to the organization in the time they’ve worked there. Others may earn more simply because they asked their employer for a pay rise, explained exactly why they were entitled to it, and their employer agreed. Some people are far more comfortable scheduling meetings with their employers to discuss pay rises than others. As a result, some employees find themselves lower paid than colleagues in the same position.

The easiest scenario is where all employees at the same level start on the same pay rate, and receive regular pay reviews in line with company policy and their job description. Where people are paid fairly for the work they perform, and where they can expect regular and fair pay increases, employee morale is likely to be higher, and there is less likely to be resentment. Naturally, this will also avoid any workplace discrimination as all employees will be treated equally.