Sharing salary information with co-workers

Have you ever checked out salary information on Glassdoor? I have, I do. I suggest my clients do. I also suggest self-reporting as after-all that is what Glassdoor is all about.

If you have checked it out, I’m wondering what you have noticed in relation to salary reporting? Most people I know say it doesn’t reflect what they are on – by quite a margin under. Without having done a survey, my understanding is that people want to share and yet as humans we have this thing called competition in our make-up. Being mindful of wanting to ‘be better’ than our competition can bring out some behaviours whereby we won’t truly and willingly help others along – in this case by sharing their salary information.

Talking about salary brings up various things for people. The competition piece is one thing, another is the concern that if I tell others what I’m on and I’m earning less I might lose some credibility. Money can also be a no-go-zone topic – perhaps it’s a little crude? No matter what though, it does enable us to have the lifestyle we want and aspire to. It does help to set us up for our ‘golden years’ of retirement. It helps us to help our family and friends that we care about so much.

So why isn’t salary talked about more between co-workers? Is it about trust? Credibility? Politeness? Embarrassment? The tall-poppy syndrome?

People share personal information and situations with those they trust… so if you have some trusted co-workers see if you can have a more personal salary conversation with them and see how it goes.