Telling your friends how much money you make may open up a conversation about income inequality, which could lead you both towards better paychecks, Meredith Bennett-Smith wrote for Quartz.
In her article, she explains that the best way to fix gender and minority pay gaps is to make salaries public so that people can have conversations about earning a higher wage. Part of this also includes talking to your co-workers about their salaries.
As Congress meets to debate the merits of government intervention in the issue of equal pay, women and minorities need to realize they arent alone, Bennett-Smith wrote. And the best way to do that is to start talking about their paychecks. By breaking the outdated workplace taboo that expects silence around salary, we can create a community of honesty and empowerment.
Bennett-Smith explained how she experienced hard times during her first job out of graduate school, including several frustrating months of ramen noodles. But that she felt more empowered to change her situation when she asked other people in her workplace who weren't struggling as much about their finances.
People were reluctant to answer her questions at first, but then began to open up, which inspired her to approach her manager about a higher salary.
Mackenzie Dawson of the New York Post also wrote that workers looking to negotiate their salaries should talk more openly about how much they make, since itll give them an idea of how much they should ask for.
But talking to your fellow employees about their salaries isnt always the best practice. In fact, about half of all American workers report that wage and salary discussions are prohibited or frowned upon in the workplace, according to the Institute for Womens Policy Research.
Experts also told Fortunes Deena Shanker that learning co-workers salaries often leads to disappointment. Talking about salaries can have the opposite effect of Bennett-Smith's, making you more unsatisfied with your job, and it could backfire with you losing your position or not getting a raise as a result, Shanker wrote.
Should you find out someone is making more money than you, it will immediately make you feel worse about your job and worse about your manager, Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career expert and author, told Fortune.
In fact, a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found something similar. The study let University of California employees see each others salaries and found that those who made less than the average employee reported lower job satisfaction. Those who made more than the average employee didnt report any change.
In her article, she explains that the best way to fix gender and minority pay gaps is to make salaries public so that people can have conversations about earning a higher wage. Part of this also includes talking to your co-workers about their salaries.
As Congress meets to debate the merits of government intervention in the issue of equal pay, women and minorities need to realize they arent alone, Bennett-Smith wrote. And the best way to do that is to start talking about their paychecks. By breaking the outdated workplace taboo that expects silence around salary, we can create a community of honesty and empowerment.
Bennett-Smith explained how she experienced hard times during her first job out of graduate school, including several frustrating months of ramen noodles. But that she felt more empowered to change her situation when she asked other people in her workplace who weren't struggling as much about their finances.
People were reluctant to answer her questions at first, but then began to open up, which inspired her to approach her manager about a higher salary.
Mackenzie Dawson of the New York Post also wrote that workers looking to negotiate their salaries should talk more openly about how much they make, since itll give them an idea of how much they should ask for.
But talking to your fellow employees about their salaries isnt always the best practice. In fact, about half of all American workers report that wage and salary discussions are prohibited or frowned upon in the workplace, according to the Institute for Womens Policy Research.
Experts also told Fortunes Deena Shanker that learning co-workers salaries often leads to disappointment. Talking about salaries can have the opposite effect of Bennett-Smith's, making you more unsatisfied with your job, and it could backfire with you losing your position or not getting a raise as a result, Shanker wrote.
Should you find out someone is making more money than you, it will immediately make you feel worse about your job and worse about your manager, Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career expert and author, told Fortune.
In fact, a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found something similar. The study let University of California employees see each others salaries and found that those who made less than the average employee reported lower job satisfaction. Those who made more than the average employee didnt report any change.
