Talking about salary in the workplace is no longer a taboo – at least among younger professionals in the United States. As new salary transparency laws are being enacted across the U.S., a new survey from research portal Skynova indicates that, overall, 61% of employees say it’s appropriate to talk about salary in the workplace in 2023. Furthermore, 71% may ignore a job opportunity if it does not list the salary range.

The study surveyed 1,017 full-time employees. Among those who do not mind revealing the contents of their paychecks to colleagues, the majority (82%) are from generation Z, born from 1997 onwards; ahead of millennials (1981-1996), generation X (1965-1981) and baby boomers (1946-1965), with transparency adherence rates of 74%, 47% and 38%, respectively. 

Although Gen Zers were the most likely to find salary discussions in the workplace appropriate, they were also more likely than any other generation to feel jealousy about co-workers’ salaries.

The survey results also reveal that almost all respondents (99%) think open positions need to indicate the salary to attract them, but they recognize that the topic ends up becoming a secret when they arrive at the companies. And more:

• 7 in 10 had discussed salaries with their co-workers, leading them to realize that they were worth more than their current pay (33%).
• 1 in 4 said they discovered that a new hire (in the same role as them) was brought on at a higher salary than theirs.
• Nearly 1 in 5 employees became aware of freelancers’ pay, possibly due to seeing their invoices.

“While workers are pushing for salary transparency in the workplace, some still seem to shy away from discussing money in private. The trend toward openness regarding pay seems to be on the rise as younger generations are less concerned about this taboo of the past. But even now, if businesses provide salary ranges in job postings, they’ll likely attract more candidates in a competitive job market.”, the report says.

---
Source: Skynova | Valor Econômico