Taboo is beneficial only for companies
If at work you tend to strictly keep your income a secret, it is worth asking: who really benefits from this silence?
Read more The second U20 national team opponent in the European Championship – Serbia
Business and HR management experts note that the veil of secrecy is most beneficial to the employer who wants to save at the expense of employees, writes rd.com.
Surveys show that as many as 70% of employees say that salaries are not openly discussed at their workplaces.
15min reported that according to the new EU directive, all confidentiality agreements regarding personal salary secrecy in employment contracts become illegal – employees have full right to share this information with colleagues.
The new regulation that has come into force gives employees much more legal tools in the fight for fair pay.
From now on, every employee has the official right to request in writing from their employer information about the average salaries of their job group, broken down by gender.
However, this right sets clear boundaries: to protect personal data, the employer will provide only general averages, not the names of specific colleagues.
Therefore, to find out how much a specific colleague in your team earns, you will still have to rely on a sincere and personal conversation.
An open conversation changed a career
The desire to understand the real situation can sometimes bring incredible results.
Two colleagues with similar experience can earn thousands of euros different amounts simply because one negotiated harder in the first job interview.
This informational vacuum can cost an employee tens of thousands of euros in lost income over several years.
Read more Due to a fatal accident in Riga, train traffic was disrupted
Sharing personal experience with rd.com , a technology company manager said that during a casual lunch conversation about a housing loan, she found out that a less experienced programmer in her own team earns a higher salary than she does.
Overcoming the fear of direct confrontation, she first talked to the employee himself to verify the accuracy of the numbers, and then approached higher management with prepared arguments for promotion and salary equalization.
The result – both conditions satisfied. This example shows that information about colleagues’ salaries is not just curiosity, but a strong bargaining tool to prove your value.
Four steps: how to start the conversation?
If you decide to talk to a colleague about salary, you should not act aggressively. Negotiation experts advise following basic etiquette:
- Share first. The best way to reduce tension is to reveal your number first. A conversation where you demand information from the other without saying anything yourself looks not like a dialogue but like an interrogation.
- Choose the right candidate. Ideally, start with a colleague who recently left the company. These people have accurate data about the company’s internal salary structure and have no reason to hide it. Also, the youngest (“Gen Z”) employees are much more open to this topic – studies show they talk about finances with colleagues twice as often as older generations.
- Check the market average posted on job search portals. It is best to start the conversation with an analytical tone: “I am currently analyzing market ranges for our positions and want to update my negotiation arguments. It would be very interesting to compare our observations.”
- Respect the word “no”. Do not pressure a colleague if they feel uncomfortable and refuse to disclose numbers. Politely changing the subject is the only correct step in this situation.
What to do with the obtained number?
Finding out that a colleague earns more naturally tempts one to give in to anger or even start a conflict with management. However, negotiation experts warn – this is a gross negotiation mistake.
When entering the manager’s office, you cannot argue with phrases like “he earns more than me” or mention specific colleagues’ names.
Information about a colleague’s salary should become the basis for your own value analysis.
You must show the manager what results you achieve, what additional tasks you take on, and why the salary you request corresponds to the real company and market situation.
The obtained information should feed your negotiation preparation but should not itself become the subject of negotiation.
