Discussing salary with co workers

[Dawnkeibals]

In general what is everyone's opinion on discussing salary with co workers? I understand that some people are "worth" more than others due to experience and education, however if people are performing the same duties daily there should not be a huge gap. I was just curious if this is something most of you guys talk about at work.

Last week I brought up salary with a co worker and you would have thought I asked he to do something illegal. We have been at the company about the same length of time and have the same title. I didn't see any harm in asking, I honestly think it's good to discuss. What do you think?

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

In the GS system, employees are paid by grade and step, so a GS-11 step 4 makes what they make and you can look it up by location (everyone gets locality pay along with their salary).

[klone, MSN, RN]

Yes, wage secrecy definitely benefits the employer. And some employers have (illegal) policies that employees are not allowed to discuss their salaries with each other. Yes, it's highly illegal and cannot be enforced (and in fact, if you are fired for doing so, you're likely eligible for compensation).

[rn1965, ADN]

I believe that one should discuss pay. I see nothing wrong with it and employers who make a huge deal of it, or say it is not allowed, are usually trying to hide something.

It helps when it comes time to negotiate your merit raises. However, if someone comes in and is making significantly more than you, with the SAME/SIMILAR experience, it likely means they just negotiated differently.

I would not make a habit of asking every single person, or doing it often, but, if it comes up, so be it!

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I work at a large facility and the pay is what it is. There is no negotiation. The only thing a manager can work with is preferred shifts, etc. We do not get paid differently ADN/BSN/MSN. We do have a clinical ladder and there is a pay increase for each step.

We also have merit increases and I do not share whether I "meet expectations" or "exceeds" that is always a touchy subject.

[JKL33]

13 hours ago, MunoRN said:

Particularly in non-unionized employment, one of the main things that facilitates unfairly low wages is when employees won't discuss their wages with each other, which is why employers sometimes have implied "wage secrecy" rules even though such rules are generally illegal. If you want to empower your employer to keep wages low, don't discuss it, if you want to empower nurses to improve wages, discuss it.

This.

Another part of the problem (and why so many of you say not to discuss it) is that people have a hard time seeing clearly when prevented with information they don't like.

So you learn your coworker in the same role makes more money than you do and....become upset with your coworker?? Your employer is the one who has put a value on your work - not your coworker! If you don't like the way your employer values your work, your beef is with your employer.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

6 hours ago, klone said:

Yes, wage secrecy definitely benefits the employer. And some employers have (illegal) policies that employees are not allowed to discuss their salaries with each other. Yes, it's highly illegal and cannot be enforced (and in fact, if you are fired for doing so, you're likely eligible for compensation).

My current employer actually covers this in training - you can absolutely discuss your pay, but you can't discuss someone else's pay if you obtained that information as part of your role (i.e., supervisors can't disclose other workers' pay). Kind of a no-brainer, IMO.

But @Jedrnurse says I am not allowed to discuss my pay because I work at home in my jammies, sooooo .... ? lol, j/k, @Jedrnurse! (In truth, I still wear scrub pants with my t-shirt and hoodie du jour. Is that weird? Maybe.)

[Dawnkeibals]

1 hour ago, JKL33 said:

This.

Another part of the problem (and why so many of you say not to discuss it) is that people have a hard time seeing clearly when prevented with information they don't like.

So you learn your coworker in the same role makes more money than you do and....become upset with your coworker?? Your employer is the one who has put a value on your work - not your coworker! If you don't like the way your employer values your work, your beef is with your employer.

I totally agree I would not be upset with my coworker if I knew there was a wage gap.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

35 minutes ago, Pixie.RN said:

But @Jedrnurse says I am not allowed to discuss my pay because I work at home in my jammies, sooooo .... ? lol, j/k, @Jedrnurse! (In truth, I still wear scrub pants with my t-shirt and hoodie du jour. Is that weird? Maybe.)

Ah, but it's the magic combo of:

1. repeating ad nauseum in your posts that you

2. pull in six figures

3. working from home in your jammies

that truly frosts my cornflakes. So, you're okay...

[apmarquez]

Federal law protects employees when sharing information about pay.

[caliotter3]

24 minutes ago, apmarquez said:

Federal law protects employees when sharing information about pay.

When I first saw this fact years ago, it occurred to me there is a reason.

[MSO4foru, ADN]

So I am not to discuss my pay with coworkers. And I don't. Because I need my job. And I k ow that the yearly - bi yearly evaluation is a joke. And management seeks to skew the numbers so that no one gets more than 2%.

[BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN]

Many people ( in this country) would not like to be asked how much they make. So, I do not discuss the pay with my coworkers. I agree with previous posters though, about empowering nurses to ask the pay rate question.

Just in comparison, in my native country, "How much do you make?" would be a fourth or fifth question after meeting the person FOR THE FIRST TIME! I've grown to dislike this question, and mostly ignore it when talking to my fellow immigrants.