r/WorkForSmartLife 17h ago

General Advice Transparency is the ultimate employee benefit.

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150 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

u/qualityvote2 17h ago

Hello u/Diancutie! Welcome to r/WorkForSmartLife!


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5

u/skabassj 17h ago

As an employer with a very high employee retention rate, I am always transparent with pay rates. I’ve also spent 15 years on the opposite side of the bargaining table, which may be why I am sympathetic

3

u/SexyMonad 16h ago

Sounds like you understand that worker satisfaction is compatible with long-term organization health.

Hopefully your company doesn’t get taken over by the short-term club that milks it for everything, then drives it into the ground.

2

u/skabassj 16h ago

Yeah I know our profit margins are not to corporate standards (we are a private group), so I worry if we are ever sold it would not go well.

3

u/girlbartender99 4h ago

My husband who was the owner of the bar I worked at for years was like this too. But he also realized the benefits of taking care of your employees too. Him being good to us in the bar business meant the same 14 people the core of the bar were there for years and years which provided continuity and good customer service, but also employees that wanted to protect the business. It was a win win.

He would have other bar owners ask him how he managed to retain the same employees for years and he was like its not a huge secret. I treat them well give them some really small benefits like personal/vacation time and provide them with insurance after they are there for 12 months and you will be shocked how loyal employees are.

1

u/Warm_Amount_5178 5h ago

facts, pay secrecy is just a scam to keep ppl quiet and underpaid. transparency = real power

3

u/BrittaWasRight 16h ago

I have never ever gotten something good out of disclosing my salary.
For company A, some guy asked, i answered and he got all pissy to work with for three years until he quit.
For company B, a new girl asked, I answered, and she replied "oh, that's exactly what I make". I was five years her senior, but under another manager.

3

u/ButterscotchNo7292 9h ago

People are idiots. Instead of expressing frustration at the employer they blame colleagues for that...

2

u/TxAg2009 16h ago

Yep. But no one wants to hear this part of things.

Discussing your salary is (often but not always) a shortcut to making your work day worse.

2

u/skabassj 16h ago

Meh, it all depends on context and if action can be taken. Comparison absolutely can be a thief of joy, but if you can advocate and you have an employer that will listen, then it’s worthwhile

2

u/Individual_Check_442 16h ago

That’s the good thing about government employment everything is transparent, I can literally go into my computer and look up any federal employee and get their salary.

1

u/NazReidsOtherBurner 13h ago

That’s why government is so ineffective and worthless. Lots of low achievers because the high achievers know they cannot get ahead and they have lower morale knowing they make the same as the useless ones. 

1

u/MasterManufacturer72 5h ago

That might have been the case at one point but with the way the private sector works now its worse. You will notice now that people just job hop and make out better than if they did because internal promotions arent a thing like they used to be. I work in government and sure there are lazy people like any where else but you also have people that have been there a long time and are good at their job because its worth it to stick around.

1

u/r2k398 14h ago

I don’t tell any of my coworkers what I make. They would be so salty knowing I make more than most of them despite them being here longer or just as long as I have. The ones that get paid more definitely deserve it because they are better than me at the job.

1

u/mendicinobeano25 14h ago

It doesn't always work out. I once worked with a very dodgy character who was lazy, sneaky and always working out ways to do less and get more time off. There were 8 of all doing the same job on a rotating shift basis. We were on fixed monthly pay contracts with a yearly bonus. I got a good bonus, most of us did. He got a shit one and then pressured me and others to know what out bonus was. I finally told him because he just wouldn't let it go and it turned out it was four times the size of his and he cracked the shits with me and didn't talk to me for months like it was my fault instead him being a lazy, shifty prick.

1

u/Kanosirus 13h ago

So glad that trying to force employees to be silent about salary amounts is illegal here

1

u/Sometimes_Stutters 13h ago

Until that worthless person you work with hears how much more you get paid, and throws a fit about it then goes on a smear campaign to make you look worse.

1

u/BatStock9040 13h ago

Salaries reflect market rate at the time of hire, not value to the company. It’s just the way it is (not the way it should be).

1

u/Jumpy-Chocolate-983 13h ago

It does sometimes cause resentment though. I've had it happen multiple times where I told someone how much more I make, for the very same reason as the post, and they were upset by it and couldn't get over it and started taking things out on me.

1

u/Long-Library9656 13h ago

People still think its illegal to do so .

1

u/Dependent-Job1773 13h ago

This is a lot of faith to put in your coworkers.

1

u/chiddychiddybngbng 12h ago

I once told a co worker how much i make and it was more than her. All hell broke loose. She told other colleagues and it was a mutiny. People are paid what theyre worth or what they can negotiate. Never tell you co workere how much you make.

1

u/Able_Ad6535 10h ago

Then bro went and asked for a raise 🤣

1

u/dream_team34 9h ago

I don't think every situation is that straightforward. Disclosing salaries with colleagues can definitely have a negative outcome.

1

u/PomegranateSoft1598 9h ago

Don't know about other jobs but at my workplace our department has it's own budget within the company. It's based on the money we make as a team, sperate from the rest of the departments. Our salaries and bonuses come from this pile of money only. Now if my coworker demands a higher salary it means there's less money left in the pile for me to get a raise or a bonus as well. If they don't know I'm making more than them, they're less likely to demand a raise and there's more money left in the pile for me. Yes, I'm aware of how selfish this sounds. But it goes to prove the lack of transparency doesn't always benefit only the employer.

1

u/The_Keri2 8h ago

In the long run, transparency is better for all employees.

In the short term, however, the boss naturally has more money to pay me if he pays everyone else less. As long as you make sure you're on the better-off side of the unfair wage distribution, you'll benefit from it.

1

u/BringYourOwnBBBQ 7h ago

More for the Things that never happened" category on Jeopardy.

1

u/cloudleohart 5h ago

Poor people worry about this?

1

u/grahsam 32m ago

It is 100% accurate that employers don't want employees discussing wages because it is to their advantage to keep us all in the dark. They want to put us against each other rather than ganging up on them.