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Salary secrets on the job keep people down, I learned by speaking up | Forbidden Conversations - Talk Freely

Salary secrets on the job keep people down, I learned by speaking up

Most people say you should never talk about how much you make with colleagues. I think that's wrong. At my last office, a few of us started discussing our pay over lunch. We found out that two people doing the same role had very different salaries. One was making way less for no clear reason. We decided to talk to our boss together about it. He listened and adjusted the pay to be fair. Now, I believe hiding pay only lets unfairness continue.

3 comments

3 Comments

gracet227mo ago

Yeah, the part about hiding pay letting unfairness continue really hits home. I used to be so awkward about money talk I’d probably try to change the subject if my own mom asked what I made. Turns out my silence just meant I was underpaid for like two years compared to the new guy. What was your boss’s actual reaction when you all went in together?

derekl797mo ago

Oh man, my boss was totally caught off guard. He got a little flustered and tried to say our situations were different, but we had our facts straight from our talk. We just stayed calm and kept pointing out the same work and same titles. It took a couple of those tough talks, but him seeing us united is what changed things. It went from awkward to a real, fixed policy.

caseyc787mo ago

Honestly, the united front is key, just like derekl79 said. My advice is to gather your facts quietly first, like the exact job titles and years there, before you even bring it up. Walking in with a calm, "here's what we found" approach works way better than coming in hot. Bosses hate feeling ambushed, but they can't argue with a simple side-by-side comparison. It turns a personal complaint into a clear business problem they have to fix.