5 ms·

I don't know why this is limited to game developers. I'm a mgr/dir and it seems obvious to me that secrecy around salaries is consciously perpetuated because i

I don't know why this is limited to game developers. I'm a mgr/dir and it seems obvious to me that secrecy around salaries is consciously perpetuated because it allows corporations to get away with underpaying some people. I can't think of any circumstance where it wouldn't be in the individual contributors' best interests to tell each other exactly what they all make. If everyone on my teams shared their salaries with each other, it would lead to two things: a) some short-term bad blood and awkwardness, and b) some underpaid people getting raises or quitting. And I think my bosses, especially the old-school ones, consciously play up a) and treat salary as a giant taboo to avoid b).

werber 5y ago
I've always been very open with coworkers about salaries. And in my experience the underpaid people were always not like me ( white and male ) and frequently better at their jobs than me.
egypturnash 5y ago
Because that's who decided to start doing this to try and create more openness in their particular industry. Talk to a few people in your industry, see who you can get to share their salaries, try and get the ball rolling on #MyIndustryPaidMe.
Pfhreak 5y ago
Levels.fyi exists. There are internal spreadsheets at various tech companies that share their comp. Agreed though, I'd love to see this elsewhere in tech.
throw123123123 5y ago
It's a tragedy of the commons situation. You can share yours and nobody shares theirs, so you lose a bit. You need a large number to make it work effectively. I personally never feared sharing my salary, but even after that not a single person ever in multiple jobs shared their salary with me.
goatinaboat 5y ago
I can't think of any circumstance where it wouldn't be in the individual contributors' best interests to tell each other exactly what they all make. If everyone on my teams shared their salaries with each other, it would lead to two things: a) some short-term bad blood and awkwardness, and b) some underpaid people getting raises or quitting. And I think my bosses, especially the old-school ones, consciously play up a) and treat salary as a giant taboo to avoid b). A previous employer explicitly stated in their contract that disclosing your salary was a disciplinary offence!

werber 5y ago

I've always been very open with coworkers about salaries. And in my experience the underpaid people were always not like me ( white and male ) and frequently better at their jobs than me.

egypturnash 5y ago

Because that's who decided to start doing this to try and create more openness in their particular industry. Talk to a few people in your industry, see who you can get to share their salaries, try and get the ball rolling on #MyIndustryPaidMe.

Pfhreak 5y ago

Levels.fyi exists. There are internal spreadsheets at various tech companies that share their comp. Agreed though, I'd love to see this elsewhere in tech.

throw123123123 5y ago

It's a tragedy of the commons situation. You can share yours and nobody shares theirs, so you lose a bit. You need a large number to make it work effectively. I personally never feared sharing my salary, but even after that not a single person ever in multiple jobs shared their salary with me.

goatinaboat 5y ago

I can't think of any circumstance where it wouldn't be in the individual contributors' best interests to tell each other exactly what they all make. If everyone on my teams shared their salaries with each other, it would lead to two things: a) some short-term bad blood and awkwardness, and b) some underpaid people getting raises or quitting. And I think my bosses, especially the old-school ones, consciously play up a) and treat salary as a giant taboo to avoid b). A previous employer explicitly stated in their contract that disclosing your salary was a disciplinary offence!