Hi!

I am writing a piece in a blog about merits of having open policy on discussing salaries, and I'd like to have your input on the subject.

In Finland it is usually not something people openly discuss, often co-workers don't know how much money each other are making and I wonder if this is a cultural thing; people just are uncomfortable with talking about money.

How is it in other countries? I assume that at least in the USA it is important to show how much one earns?

I usually not talking about my salary unless someone asks. And since you did, 0.

Why would anyone care about other poeple salaries in the first place?

Good question!

In my opinion it creates more open work environment if people do know what their co-workers earn and why they get that amount.

Having a culture of non-disclosure regarding salaries benefits the employer more than the employees; if everybody knew what others get (and how much they work for it) then it is easier to go to your line manager and ask for a raise if you feel you are undervalued.

Note that this concerns mostly professions where workers have individually negotiable salaries and targets, on manual labour workers the wages in Finland are paid by the hour according to standardized tables.

Possibly but that gives the impression that everyone shall have equally amount of money. Instead you shall focus on your own salary and performance. If you are unhappy you should find another employer or even better. Start a business of their own.

In my opinion this is not true. I am not advocating equal paycheck for all people here; people tend to know the level of performance of their peers pretty well and also knowing what everybody is being paid for their performance helps to nurture open environment where one can concentrate to grow in their own professionalism.

Usually there are reasons why people get paid the amount they do and having it all in the open is good.


I guess not everyone wants to have a business-of-their-own. For the minimum it would require one to have something that one can sell, whether it be a skill, some knowledge or plain old-fashioned manual labour.
In addition to that one should possess some form of commercial understanding to be able to earn any living with the business.

I somehow suppose most people find it easier and more satisfying to be employed in the traditional sense.

Maybe I join the discussion later with more, right now judt a quick thought:
If salaries are in the open there won't be any individual agreements anymore. If you say to your employer, I want the same/more, he will say: If I give you more, I will need to give it to the others as well since its public. So you all get the same (few) bucks.

Could be, but on the other hand the managed could say; "OK, the reason Harry gets more than you is because he did X and Y, so if you do Z let's look at that in three months again."

Now you'll know you need to achieve Z and you will get a raise/bonus. Or you know you won't achieve Z no matter what, and that's it.

But hey, we have moved a bit away from the topic of my inquiry really. Debating the pros/cons on having open policy on salaries is interesting but...

So I'd like to have a bit of input on how openly are salaries discussed in your country?

Do people know the paycheck each other is getting? (at least in general size, if not down to nearest 10 euros)
Do people routinely discuss what they get, and not be shy about it?

Well, here in Paraguay, I think that we don't discuss so much with our coworkers, sometimes with the closest ones maybe, or with closest friends.
It's still like a taboo to ask about salary, but younger people share theirs amount of salary without problems

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In Austria it would be considered very impolite to ask unless you're close friends. I remember how shocked I was when I came to Switzerland for the first time and the question about my income came up almost regularly even though I hardly knew the people.