Discussing salary with co workers

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

I was taught growing up that it's considered impolite to talk salary/pay with others. If 2 coworkers open up a discussion and want to disclose those things with one another, then whatever. But I wouldn't go around casually asking my coworkers how much they make.

3 Votes

Salaries are like religion and politics. If you can discuss someone's religion or who they voted for then it is likely safe to discuss salary...but be prepared for hurt feelings.

2 Votes
Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

This reluctance to be transparent about wages is hurting nurses more than helping. Now, that doesn't mean you should go up to someone and ask outright, but I think we need to be a bit more open about the subject of money.

2 Votes
On 10/2/2019 at 11:49 PM, no.intervention.required said:

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.

22 hours ago, Mavnurse17 said:

I was taught growing up that it's considered impolite to talk salary/pay with others. If 2 coworkers open up a discussion and want to disclose those things with one another, then whatever. But I wouldn't go around casually asking my coworkers how much they make. 

2 hours ago, Asystole RN said:

Salaries are like religion and politics. If you can discuss someone's religion or who they voted for then it is likely safe to discuss salary...but be prepared for hurt feelings.

Reason for discussing it is important. It is generally considered a nosy question in a social situation because people usually want to know the answer mostly so that they can apply social class-related judgments.

That's a different spirit than the idea of being willing to entertain conversations between coworkers in the same role for the purposes of understanding the employer's compensation practices. And actually, it isn't so much that employees must discuss their wages as it is that their employers have zero business telling them they can't.

3 Votes
Specializes in Nurse Assistant.

When I wanted to check how my hourly pay aligned, I asked a coworker who had previously been a manager elsewhere. I did not ask her about her own pay, I told her what my pay was and asked her how she thought it compared to others she had managed.

I think discussing pay is wise, but you have to be willing to offer up your own pay info first.

1 Votes

I don't know if this is a generational thing or a cultural thing or what, but I have NEVER discussed salary with colleagues. Other than the good-natured gripe about none of us getting paid enough to do XX, that's it.

How much money I earn and how much money I spend is my business. If I feel I am not earning as much as I should, that's a conversation with my employer. If my colleague is feeling like they should be earning more then I encourage them to go talk to the boss.

My wallet is no one else's concern.

2 Votes
Specializes in corrections and LTC.

I believe that salaries should be fair and transparent. That being said, I have never worked in a facility where that was true.

As an administrator, one of the first things that I do is a salary scale based on several things. It is as fair as I can make it. If you have a better story about why you should start out at a dollar more an hour than someone with the exact same experience, you are out of luck. The salary scale criteria is what that salary is based on. Not our need, not because you are my friend, not because you are a better salesman for yourself.

I was appalled at the discrepancy in pay at the last facility where I was a temporary administrator. After finding out what other local salaries were, we created the scale. Some nurses were already making what they should be making based on this scale. Some nurses got $2-$3 an hour raises. One nurse got a $9/hr raise. How pathetic that the previous administration let her work the exact same job as other nurses for so much lower pay. One nurse, who did not get any raise as she made exactly what the new salary scale said she should make, was very gracious. She appreciated that she had actually been paid what she was worth for all of the years that she worked there.

3 Votes
3 hours ago, JKL33 said:

Reason for discussing it is important. It is generally considered a nosy question in a social situation because people usually want to know the answer mostly so that they can apply social class-related judgments.

That's a different spirit than the idea of being willing to entertain conversations between coworkers in the same role for the purposes of understanding the employer's compensation practices. And actually, it isn't so much that employees must discuss their wages as it is that their employers have zero business telling them they can't.

Surprised somebody did not make this distinction earlier in the thread. It is not that common for people to bring up their pay rate as a means to brag that they know they are being treated better than their peers. I think this only happened to me once. I got the inkling that they knew they were getting substantially more than me, the person who had been with the (home care) patient since Day One.

1 Votes

I am surprised by these "just don't" responses. Pay rates should not be a secret- this is how pay inequality persists. It is definitely your business what someone with equal tenure, title, and education is making. If someone doesn't want to answer, they don't have to. Knowing the pay rate of your co-workers can used as leverage if you do so tactfully; I am saying this from experience.

4 Votes
Specializes in Mental Health.

payscale.com is a better way to find out what people are making in your area or even your specific hospital without causing rifts by asking specific people what they are making.

10 hours ago, Rionoir said:

payscale.com is a better way to find out what people are making in your area or even your specific hospital without causing rifts by asking specific people what they are making.

I’m totally cool with causing “rifts” based on my own life experiences with unequal/ unfair pay - tough noogies for employers who don’t play fair.

A few years back, in a job before nursing- I held an unpaid title of “group leader” - with a decade of experience at that company - I was expected to take on the most difficult and challenging assignments from other employees who couldn’t handle them. By accident, I found out that one employee who was especially good at dumping assignments on me (with less that two years on the job) was also making $1 an hour more than me. That particular employee was just really accomplished at whining about his pay, so the squeaky-wheel got the raises. They brought me up to pay-parity with the lazy whiner at the next review when I confronted my boss directly - but never paid any extra for my experience, loyalty and willingness to take on what others just couldn’t handle. Yeah, I ended up leaving for greener pastures and that’s all on the employer.

Now, I joke around with my co-workers about being “Fiddy Cent’s” little brother, “Fourty-Eight-Cent” (per minute)- and on overtime days I’m in a jolly mood, because our labor laws require my cheap-a$$ employer to upgrade me to “Seventy-Two-Cent”.

I’m worth a lot more than I’m getting - and if an open and honest knowledge of my pay rate causes my employer embarrassment or “rifts” amongst other employees, there’s an easy “capitalist” solution- pay more for outstanding performance - to them or to me..

FWIW, “payscale.com” says my hourly rate is a nickel more than my peers, but my annual salary is almost 50% too low.. Not sure what to make of that, but local job ads show there’s $4 or $5 still on the table.

1 Votes
Specializes in Mental Health.

So why are you still working there? ?‍♂️

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