Dive Brief:
- Most employers have a long held practice of not discussing salaries, other than with the person in question, and being very guarded about releasing that type of information in their workplace, according to an article at CBC News.
- HR columnist Pierre Batah writes that today, salaries have become increasingly transparent, with many public institutions and smaller employers openly disclosing salary ranges, and even individual salaries.
- The important question is, Battah writes, what is the real impact when everyone knows or doesn't know how much everybody else makes?
Dive Insight:
The pro-salary secrecy faction cite increased tension and jealousy between employees when salaries are transparent, and the increased burden on managers to deal with pay-related complaints that comes with openness around the issue, Battah writes.
But he believes that putting business owners and managers in a position to have conversations about issues of salary, worth and what it takes to get to a higher pay grade are all healthy and beneficial.
Battah writes that the global workforce increasingly populated by younger workers who, through their online lives, have a very different perspective on privacy and who believe transparency equals fairness. And there are even even employers who encourage employees to self-disclose their pay on the company intranet.
As one business owner and chief executive officer recently told Battah, conversations about worth and pay scales help everyone understand the variety of skills and talents needed to make the company successful. Besides, he told Battah most of his staff "share their salary information with their work pals anyway, so by being open about it we get to put that information in context."
