Transparency

One thing that I can’t get over about people in the workforce is their unwillingness to share with eachother how much money they make. They say that this type of discussion is tacky. They say that it’s best that your friends and colleagues don’t know how much money you make. That this could lead to awkwardness, resentment, drama, death, horror…

That’s stupid.

First of all, who is this “they” that says that it is bad form to tell people how much money you make? Does this illusive “they” have your best interest at heart? The answer to both of those questions is that your employers perpetuate the lie that sharing wage information is crass and rude, and they do it because THEY WANT TO KEEP YOU IGNORANT. I’m not saying that all employers are out to rip you off. You may work at a very nice company that prides itself in taking care of its employees by offering the highest reasonable wages and the best possible benefits. But I bet that you don’t.

Employers perpetuate this wage info sharing taboo because they don’t want you to know what people in comparable positions make. They don’t want you to know this, because if you know what other people make then you can create a reasonable case for a higher wage. This is especially true of young people who are in their first job and don’t know any better. My advice to you is this: ask everyone you know what they make, and be forthcoming with that information for anyone who asks you. THIS IS NOT TACKY. It’s smart. If you don’t know what others are making, then you don’t know if you are underpaid. And if you don’t know that you are underpaid, your employer will continue to underpay you as long as they can get away with it. DON’T LET THEM. You obviously can’t afford it.