Introduction:
This blog post aims to highlight the dilemma of salary disclosure. Generally speaking, someone’s salary should not concern or affect others, or that is the norm. Telling others about your salary details has an impact and one must consider factors like workplace dynamics, family norms, societal norms, privacy concerns, etc. The issue is what will happen if one tells his/her salary to others. Good friends and family will rejoice that and will motivate you on how to earn more or become greater than yesterday. However, on the other side, there are some people who exist in this world who might not share the same feeling like them. Money has always been symbolized as power and politics in our society, though that is not its true purpose. Therefore, unchecked disclosure of exact financial situations comes at a steep cost if risk analysis is not done beforehand.
The Dilemma:
What will happen if someone makes their salary details public? And what will happen if someone keeps their salary information private or disclose rationally among a very close circle?
Well this has many nuances and it is not that easy to answer, as every person holds different perspectives and worldviews.
Why should you disclose your salary?
Hard work gets you a monthly paycheck. And the people with whom you interact more often or live with them everyday, there is no problem disclosing your salary with them. It might improve transparency and trust. They will not take your advantage in any way, because they have seen where you came from and the hours worth of work you have put into improving yourself and getting a successful job or career. They have seen the input and output of your life’s time and energy and moreover, sharing such great news will make your friends and family extremely happy. It is somehow seen to improve family connections and friendly relationships.
In another scenario, not disclosing your salary to potential employers will cause them to low-ball you in regards to salary and other benefits. Disclosure of such information among employees in a company will ensure every employee is well paid and their salary is according to their experience, knowledge and market standards. If salary is not disclosed for whatever reasons, most likely they will be exploited. Some good companies even pay for medical insurance to both employees and their immediate family members along with other perks. Revealing and sharing this with coworkers fosters transparency in a company and its policies and minimizes labor exploitation.
In the gig economy, discussing each other’s salary is often important to understand the current market rate. That way, it can be made sure that every freelancer is paid equally. Overall, these are some benefits of discussing your salary with others.
Why should you not disclose your salary?
Like revealing salary to close people and colleagues is a good idea. On the other hand, if your salary details are exposed to outer circles, that might pose some unwanted troubles which no one has asked for. First and foremost trouble which most people face is that people judge them based on their salary amount along with their face value and not based on their nature and the value as a person. Secondly, revealing salary is prohibited in some companies as a strict company policy. This is done basically for a few reasons: peer backlash and wrong interpretation among colleagues are two reasons among them (excluding the fact that companies exploit employees by disallowing discussion of salaries). Salary depends on a lot of factors like education and at what level and from where, proven experience, strong corporate reputation, reliability, unwavering sense of responsibility, extraordinary soft skills and communication. However, it is not expected that every other employee will understand these and will simply cry about salary disparity. Then there is an immense pressure to conform in various situations where you simply cannot refuse, like in family gatherings, in friend circles, in public meetings, etc. Once you speak up about your salary, their viewpoint on you and opinion about you will change entirely and they will expect financial commitments from you in innumerable ways. Eventually this will screw you up financially.
In relation to close circles like families and friends, statistically speaking, how many of us have true friends or a happy family. Do this. Google this: “toxic family”, “toxic relationships”, “toxic friendships”, ”toxic parents”, etc. You will be surprised to know how common this issue really is in current times. And this trend is not good. Now guess what could possibly happen, if you disclose your personal details and/or your salary with such people. In most cases in my opinion, advantage will be taken, unjustified conformity will be imposed, personal opinions will be less prioritized. Very rarely others may understand your viewpoint.
Lastly, there is one common thing that is called Jealousy. As a result, a negative impact on relationships both in corporate life and in personal circles is inevitable. There is only one way to prevent such troubles, i.e. stop revealing your salary.
Takeaway:
There is a popular saying: “never ask a woman her age, a man his salary”. This holds true to the context of this blog topic. Disclosing exact salary details comes with consequences that one must be aware of in advance. However, situations and circumstances vary from place, person, time. Therefore one must weigh each side and ensure a fine balance between both sides. In all terms, personal decision and personal preference must be prioritized above all, while at the same time it should be made certain that no moral conflict or any issue arises out of salary discussions.
At the end of day, it’s the character, nature, personality and traits of a person that makes them unique and not their paycheck value.
I had a hard time finding more references, since this topic is somewhat nuanced. Nevertheless, some of them are given below.
References:
- https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/beware-of-sharing-salary-details-hot-jobs
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-pros-cons-salary-transparency-job-postings-
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