4 ms·

People get over it. I work for a public sector employer. My salary is fully searchable and posted on the local newspaper's website. Unless your company is doi

by Duff 15y ago

People get over it. I work for a public sector employer. My salary is fully searchable and posted on the local newspaper's website. Unless your company is doing dumb things like discriminating against certain types of people, there aren't many surprises to be had. Frankly, working with a useless coworker is frustrating regardless of salary.

eli 15y ago
Yeah, but your employer probably has a pretty well defined process for setting salaries and giving raises, right? Perhaps it isn't a fair process, but at least consistent. Private companies aren't always like that.
- Duff 15y ago
  Exactly -- inequity is the issue, not disclosure. It's a bigger issue for the employer -- it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that certain people are buying new cars at bonus time, while others cannot afford lunch.
  - sokoloff 15y ago
    When it comes to compensation (for tech workers), fair is not equal and equal is not fair. I know that you didn't make the claim that they were, but it's a logical half-step to "unequal is definitionally inequitable". My best colleagues made/make more than my average colleagues, at every place that I've worked, and that's exactly as it should be, IMO.
    - Duff 15y ago
      I agree. IMO, it shouldn't be an open secret that the top performers make more. Designate them Senior Widget-Makers or whatever. If they are masters of their craft, recognize them for it. When things are kept secret, there are abuses. The top performers whom you respect may get paid more, but then so can the below average performer who is politically strategic to whomever makes compensation decisions. Obviously that is not an issue with a startup, but that happens everyday in larger orgs.
      - kelnos 15y ago
        Obviously that is not an issue with a startup ... if only that were true...
    - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
      >My best colleagues made/make more than my average colleagues, at every place that I've worked, and that's exactly as it should be, IMO. // Do they do a different job or produce more output in the same job? That's the only reason, IMO, for them to get paid differently. I believe that you should get paid the same to do the same job.
      - sokoloff 15y ago
        They tend to have the same level/track/title/whatever-your-company-calls-it, but produce more output in the same job. Sometimes, they produce so much more output or produce output that none of their peers could produce, that it's as if they have a different job. Said another way, these are the people that I cannot help but think of when I read Joel's essay on hitting the high notes: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HighNotes.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HighNotes.html

by Duff 15y ago

eli 15y ago

Yeah, but your employer probably has a pretty well defined process for setting salaries and giving raises, right? Perhaps it isn't a fair process, but at least consistent. Private companies aren't always like that.

Duff 15y ago
Exactly -- inequity is the issue, not disclosure. It's a bigger issue for the employer -- it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that certain people are buying new cars at bonus time, while others cannot afford lunch.
- sokoloff 15y ago
  When it comes to compensation (for tech workers), fair is not equal and equal is not fair. I know that you didn't make the claim that they were, but it's a logical half-step to "unequal is definitionally inequitable". My best colleagues made/make more than my average colleagues, at every place that I've worked, and that's exactly as it should be, IMO.
  - Duff 15y ago
    I agree. IMO, it shouldn't be an open secret that the top performers make more. Designate them Senior Widget-Makers or whatever. If they are masters of their craft, recognize them for it. When things are kept secret, there are abuses. The top performers whom you respect may get paid more, but then so can the below average performer who is politically strategic to whomever makes compensation decisions. Obviously that is not an issue with a startup, but that happens everyday in larger orgs.
    - kelnos 15y ago
      Obviously that is not an issue with a startup ... if only that were true...
  - pbhjpbhj 15y ago
    >My best colleagues made/make more than my average colleagues, at every place that I've worked, and that's exactly as it should be, IMO. // Do they do a different job or produce more output in the same job? That's the only reason, IMO, for them to get paid differently. I believe that you should get paid the same to do the same job.
    - sokoloff 15y ago
      They tend to have the same level/track/title/whatever-your-company-calls-it, but produce more output in the same job. Sometimes, they produce so much more output or produce output that none of their peers could produce, that it's as if they have a different job. Said another way, these are the people that I cannot help but think of when I read Joel's essay on hitting the high notes: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HighNotes.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HighNotes.html