{"id":5634,"date":"2020-12-05T10:17:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T02:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?p=5634"},"modified":"2021-03-16T16:35:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T08:35:49","slug":"pros-and-cons-of-disclosing-your-salary-to-co-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/pros-and-cons-of-disclosing-your-salary-to-co-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Pros And Cons Of Disclosing Your Salary To Co-Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was first published on\u00a0DollarsAndSense.sg<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many Asian societies, talking about money with people you know is not unlike talking about sex. We\u00a0don\u2019t really talk about it because it is awkward, but we\u2019re\u00a0also curious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, this taboo about money and salaries has implications on transparency, fairness, and could perhaps be causing companies across the entire economy to inefficiently allocate resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, an open salary culture isn\u2019t necessarily a silver bullet without repercussions. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the issue to better understand the trade-offs we\u2019re implicitly making, and what to expect if the practice of confidential salaries is overturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also:\u00a0More Salary Claims And Spike In Dismissal Claims In Singapore: 2019\/2020 Employment Standards<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asymmetric Information Leads To Poorer Outcomes For Employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Economics, price discovery is the process in which supply and demand meet \u2013 at exactly one point. In the event information is not forthcoming, then inefficiencies would occur \u2013 either buyers pay more than they need to, sellers price lower than they should, or a transaction not happening because of a mismatch in expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same can be applied to the job market. In the current culture of salary secrecy, employers have a disproportionate advantage, since they complete picture of how much they are paying all employees, and can get away with underpaying workers, with no one the wiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If employees ask for more than what the company is willing to pay, then the transaction (hire or pay raise) simply doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>Should You Allow Employees To Encash Their Remaining Annual Leave This Year?<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The culture of salary opaqueness also leads to the constant nagging feeling of unfairness and jealousy, since it allows for the possibility of nepotism, favouritism, and overpaying of incompetent people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would also eliminate the fear that one is missing out on a higher salary simply because they were not a good negotiator, or lost out on higher pay just because they didn\u2019t join the firm when the company was desperate to hire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, transparency keeps companies honest and closes any actual \u2013 or perceived \u2013 gender pay gap for women, seniors, or persons with disabilities. Any bias or patterns that can\u2019t be justified by work responsibilities or capability would simply not be able to stand up to the light of day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open Salary Culture Exists In The Public Sector \u2013 And We\u2019re Better Off For It<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Opponents to an open salary culture say that overturning the status quo might lead to adverse consequences, such as disdain for management whom they don\u2019t respect, or outrage at a perceived inferior peer earning more than them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put those concerns to rest, one simply needs to look at Singapore\u2019s largest employer \u2013 the Public Service. There are 146,000 public officers working in 16 Ministries, more than 50 Statutory Boards, and 9 Organs of State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pay structure is transparent across the entire service, from entry-grade officers to those high in the Superscale ranks. Bonuses are also awarded according to a known formula based on performance evaluation and the publicly-announced bonus policy that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, it is possible to calculate \u2013 with a great degree of accuracy \u2013 how much colleagues, boss, or subordinates are earning in the Public Service, and arguably public servants and Singapore society are better for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still plenty of ways to recognise and reward those who work hard and achieve better outcomes, whether that\u2019s bonuses, promotional prospects, awards, or involvement in special projects and initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: Is The Progressive Wage Model An Alternate (And Better) Form Of Minimum Wage<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ground-Up Platforms Like Glassdoor Chip Away At Closed Salary Cultures<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Information is like Pandora\u2019s Box: once it gets out, it is impossible to put it back in. And as much as companies want to keep their compensation policies secret, slowly, but surely, this information makes its way to the public domain \u2013 or at least informally within industry circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the remuneration of Ho Ching, the 16-year CEO of the state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings was not spared from\u00a0speculation<\/a>\u00a0and subsequent\u00a0denial<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If companies pay poorly or exhibit a certain bias in their pay policy \u2013 they will be punished with a reputation they deserve. Likewise, companies that are known to overpay for incompetent talents with glossy resumes would deservedly attract the wrong candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of platforms like Glassdoor<\/a> and industry surveys also contribute to a slow, but sure democratisation of salary disclosures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, when advertising of job listings on MyCareersFuture and elsewhere, companies themselves would need to disclose the salary quantum (or at least a range) they are willing to pay, which also contributes to salary discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These signs point to a gradual move towards an open salary culture in the future \u2013 perhaps sooner rather than later. Companies with nothing to fear wouldn\u2019t be adversely impacted by this trend, while perhaps the promise of this being a reality would nudge companies in the right direction when it comes to paying people fairly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: 10 Ways COVID-19 Impacted Singapore Workers: MOM Labour Force In Singapore Advance Release 2020<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Should salary be a secret?\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[364],"tags":[148,127,115,262,599,162],"yoast_head":"\nPros And Cons Of Disclosing Your Salary To Co-Workers | DollarsAndSense Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pros and cons of a transparent and open salary culture in the workplace - and whether you should disclose salary to colleagues.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/pros-and-cons-of-disclosing-your-salary-to-co-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pros And Cons Of Disclosing Your Salary To Co-Workers | DollarsAndSense Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pros and cons of a transparent and open salary culture in the workplace - 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