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Ask Slashdot: Should You Tell Your Coworkers How Much You Make?
An anonymous reader writes: Asking someone how much money they make is often -- if not always? -- considered impolite. But over the years, there has been a movement in toward more salary transparency. Some say salary transparency can make workplaces more equitable by helping to eliminate the gender and racial pay gaps. Even in companies that haven't decided to officially make all salaries open, some employees are taking matters into their own hands and sharing their pay rate with their coworkers. What's your take on this?
Both my wife and I are engineers and we went a long time with dual income-no kids.
So that's two sets of perfectly good engineering genes that are getting wiped out of the gene pool. Thanks a lot, asshole. Way to look out for the next generation.
This.
I work at a public university, as (mostly) technical staff (plus a bit of teaching). I consider it a very good point of our work that the income of each of my colleagues is basically public knowledge - Not to the exact sum, but to a general ballpark (as there are too many small variations, but they don't alter the result by >20%).
Each person negotiating their work terms seems to me like a terrible use of time. I know which category I fit in when I was hired; I might have stayed equal or improved (it's _very_ hard to be demoted). I know there are important extras, such as (publicly known) stimulus levels. I have never had to think about negotiating my income level over the last 13 years I have worked there; only once I have requested reclassification (jumped to a higher bracket).
This is a perfect system for under achievers. You have found your home.