8 ms·

Am I the only one that feels shaky sharing my salary? I work at a start up and if I share my position and company it won't really be anonymous, as I am the only

Am I the only one that feels shaky sharing my salary? I work at a start up and if I share my position and company it won't really be anonymous, as I am the only person at the company with that position. I do agree its nice for people to post their salaries so i know if I'm underpaid. But what if I'm overpaid, or at least played more than most at my company? What will that do to people I work with who find or how much I'm paid? It makes me a little uneasy to think my friends might find out I make more than them, I don't really want to flaunt my pay. I'm not saying I am overpaid, but that is the thought that gets in my way from sharing my salary on sites like this and glassdoor. I always assumed because of this salaries on glassdoor where scewed to the lower spectrum. Am I alone in this?

anuj_nm 11y ago
Maybe you can add some details about what stage your company is at (seed vs Series A/B/C), instead of identifying your company?
lokeshk 11y ago
You can just mention "A startup in XY technology located in bay area", and hopefully that would be enough to give you ambiguity.
pizza 11y ago
If it weren't for status anxiety, I imagine people would prefer to have this information available (rather than assuming everyone is paid fairly).
the_gipsy 11y ago
Just don't fill out the company name field.
BinaryIdiot 11y ago
Ultimately salary transparency is actually a net positive. You can easily know if you're over or under paid and all groups (gender, ethnicity, etc) can see how their pay compares to the other groups. Yes there is a pain point that you mention when transitioning to such transparency. If the company hasn't been typically fair with salaries or not properly explaining why person X isn't getting Y then it's not going to be fun. But overall it should give you a better position to negotiate a higher salary when you're underpaid and it makes everyone well aware if discrimination is happening. I'll tell anyone who asks. I don't publicize because most people I work with are really uncomfortable with it but personally I don't care and I think ultimately, as a society, we're going to move in that direction. It's just going to take a long time.
- tedmiston 11y ago
  It's a net positive for some people. You will tell your salary to anyone who asks, and I will also enjoy having that conversation with anyone for the additional data points, if nothing else. However, some people become really uncomfortable if they learn they're making less than others in similar positions. Especially if you work at an early to mid stage startup that doesn't have things like pay bands and formulaic raises.
- jeremyt 11y ago
  I disagree. The problem here is that every company has above average performers, average performers, and below average performers. However, almost everyone thinks they are an above average performer. Therefore, if salaries are shared, at least two thirds of your workers are liable to be pissed off at what they are making, even though the amount is completely fair based on their actual worth to the company.
  - toolz 11y ago
    Transparency solves that problem. If below average workers moved from business to business getting paid less than their peers, how long do you think they would consider themselves better than average?
    - jeremyt 11y ago
      Possibly forever, and I think it's very likely they develop a chip on their shoulder because the world is not properly valuing their skills. Never underestimate the ability of people to come up with all kinds of reasons why they are being treated unfairly.
      - toolz 11y ago
        I think that's a negative bias. The majority of people behave rationally and while they may speak negatively in public, internally they will understand the pattern. We have a tendency to put too much value in what people say rather than how they act. I'm confident actions would reflect people understanding their value in a transparent world, even if their words did not.
cptn_brittish 11y ago
It made me shaky if I had to share my Company's name as I am in a similar position to you where there are only 6 people at the company and I'm in a easily identifiable position there. Currently that is optional so I put as much detail as I could about my position without giving away any company details.

anuj_nm 11y ago

Maybe you can add some details about what stage your company is at (seed vs Series A/B/C), instead of identifying your company?

lokeshk 11y ago

You can just mention "A startup in XY technology located in bay area", and hopefully that would be enough to give you ambiguity.

pizza 11y ago

If it weren't for status anxiety, I imagine people would prefer to have this information available (rather than assuming everyone is paid fairly).

the_gipsy 11y ago

Just don't fill out the company name field.

BinaryIdiot 11y ago

Ultimately salary transparency is actually a net positive. You can easily know if you're over or under paid and all groups (gender, ethnicity, etc) can see how their pay compares to the other groups. Yes there is a pain point that you mention when transitioning to such transparency. If the company hasn't been typically fair with salaries or not properly explaining why person X isn't getting Y then it's not going to be fun. But overall it should give you a better position to negotiate a higher salary when you're underpaid and it makes everyone well aware if discrimination is happening. I'll tell anyone who asks. I don't publicize because most people I work with are really uncomfortable with it but personally I don't care and I think ultimately, as a society, we're going to move in that direction. It's just going to take a long time.

tedmiston 11y ago
It's a net positive for some people. You will tell your salary to anyone who asks, and I will also enjoy having that conversation with anyone for the additional data points, if nothing else. However, some people become really uncomfortable if they learn they're making less than others in similar positions. Especially if you work at an early to mid stage startup that doesn't have things like pay bands and formulaic raises.
jeremyt 11y ago
I disagree. The problem here is that every company has above average performers, average performers, and below average performers. However, almost everyone thinks they are an above average performer. Therefore, if salaries are shared, at least two thirds of your workers are liable to be pissed off at what they are making, even though the amount is completely fair based on their actual worth to the company.
- toolz 11y ago
  Transparency solves that problem. If below average workers moved from business to business getting paid less than their peers, how long do you think they would consider themselves better than average?
  - jeremyt 11y ago
    Possibly forever, and I think it's very likely they develop a chip on their shoulder because the world is not properly valuing their skills. Never underestimate the ability of people to come up with all kinds of reasons why they are being treated unfairly.
    - toolz 11y ago
      I think that's a negative bias. The majority of people behave rationally and while they may speak negatively in public, internally they will understand the pattern. We have a tendency to put too much value in what people say rather than how they act. I'm confident actions would reflect people understanding their value in a transparent world, even if their words did not.

cptn_brittish 11y ago

It made me shaky if I had to share my Company's name as I am in a similar position to you where there are only 6 people at the company and I'm in a easily identifiable position there. Currently that is optional so I put as much detail as I could about my position without giving away any company details.