Who do you share your salary information with?

[Anthony Marrone]

My theory is this, the less people know about how much I make, the less inclined they are to ask me to borrow money.

Anytime someone tries to go down this road, I simply begin to change the tone of the conversation to address my voluminous student loan debt, this usually cures any itch they might have.

This is especially difficult with parents and friends, especially because I just accepted my first job offer, and they want to know what it took to keep me in this tiny Upstate NY town. Fortunately, there are companies that widely-publicize attorney salaries, unfortunately most of the figures are only for big firms and provide little useful data to someone looking to work in a small firm or public interest environment.

All in all, I feel this information is private, and not knowing what any co-workers make probably makes for a more harmonious office environment.

[purplefdu]

My last job it was widely known what people made as it was done by rank, everyone doing a certain job made the same whether they had worked there ten years or ten days. We used to discuss how little the pay had gone up since the company was founded.

The job before that was McDs and I discussed it with my best friend and other managers who were above me and on salary. My best friend made .50 more than me because they felt it was wrong to let me make the same or more as she worked there 4yrs in hgh school before I got hired. However as I was the better employee they soon made the choice to stop promoting and paying her more just because I was in need of a deserved promotion or raise. When she left she was making $8/hr and I was making $8.75/hr. I was making $9.50/hr when I left and working 50+ hours a week and making more than the first assistants on salary. I never cared, and I would still discuss my pay with people, as it tells you that you're getting shafted or not, especially as I tend to work in male dominated industries and there is still descrimination. I wouldn't know if I can't find out other's pay though.

[MSMomsmoney]

The IRS...really noone else.

I really don't discuss salaries with anyone (what they make or what I make).

Although I do have an idea what the other people in my office earn.

[Xin Lu]

So, I am Chinese, and it sort of in the culture to share salary info. So I told my parents, and they told my grandparents, and then my grandparents told half of my hometown. My husband also knows and my mother in law because she is a tax preparer and does our taxes. Other than that, a few of my ex-coworkers also know because we talk about it and we're friends. Also my boss, because he hired me and we negotiated the deal. And accounting of course. If you think about it a lot of people already know your salary by the nature of their jobs.

[Basenjimom]

I don't share my salary information with ANYONE - it can only lead to conflict! If I had a significant other, I would share it with them....but noone else in my life knows. Not my family, not my friends, not my coworkers. I feel that this is a very personal/private thing, and it should not even be asked to begin with..I would never ask people how much they make.

[72Tiger]

I keep it private.

[Tightwad]

My husband and the IRS. I don't tell anyone else what I make, not even my parents. We talk around our salaries at work and people hint at their number, but no one ever tells. They have been brainwashed that the corporate police will burst in if you share your digits with another employee. I just don't want people knowing my business. The few times I have found out what a co-worker is actually making, it made me feel lousy. Especially when they had a job with a lot less responsibility and stress than mine and then I find out they get paid 10-15% more than myself. It is very disheartening.

[lielay]

My husband, and everyone else ... My salary is posted online every year because I'm a public employee. I don't tell everyone I meet, but once someone asks what I do or where I work, it's pretty easy to find out. I'm also Chinese, and my parents, grandparents, and family all know. -_-

[moneymatters]

I try not to tell anyone what my salary is, and I haven't really come across too many people that were rude enough to ask me straight up. There was one time that one of the IT guys was doing maintenance on the big boss's computer, and he left the "salary spreadsheet" open on the desktop. He shared with a few of us were making, and it was disheartening for some, and big inflation of egos for others.. I'm not sure I felt good about that guy seeing that information though.

Besides salaries, i've found a big problem around our offices are year end bonuses. Not everyone gets them and we're instructed to keep them secret - so everyone is always wondering - who got them, and how much they got. Big source of office gossip at the end of the year.

[Xin Lu]

Though, I personally think that the government's model of having public salary information is great because people who are at the same rank performing the same job gets paid the same. That way there is less discrimination. For example, I know that a lot of female engineers get paid less than their male counterparts and it is not really fair. Open salary information could make compensation more transparent and equitable.