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>If you're happy to make $88k and the guy doing the same job next to you is making $110k, I don't see any problem One problem is that the first person is often

>If you're happy to make $88k and the guy doing the same job next to you is making $110k, I don't see any problem One problem is that the first person is often female, not white or foreign. Another is the demotivational effect when the first person eventually does find out they are underpaid versus colleagues or the market - and they generally do. And then they will leave. It gets worse when the lower paid person is clearly outperforming the higher paid person, or where the higher paid person is clearly under performing. And finally it's just not the right thing to treat people unfairly versus their peers. If the lower paid person is being underpaid then quietly fix the issue.

wpietri 13y ago
100% agreed. I absolutely hate salary systems that give an advantage to people who are pushy, jerky, entitled, or privileged. Some of the best developers I know are pleasant, friendly, modest, don't like confrontation, and pay more attention to the work and the team than how much they're pocketing. Those people shouldn't be paid less.
- nsxwolf 13y ago
  Is asking for what you want pushy? I'm not sure we want to be praising people for being good little doormats. Learn to defend your work and ask for what you deserve.
  - wpietri 13y ago
    Asking for what you want isn't necessarily pushy. And yes, people should learn to ask for what they deserve. But knowing what you deserve is a complicated art that involves measuring yourself against your coworkers and your industry, and having a good working knowledge of the current market. For the people who don't know what they want, some of them are going to err on the side of asking for too little, and some will ask for too much. I would much rather spend my time bringing the shy up than battering the arrogant down to something reasonable.
  - loomio 13y ago
    There is so, so much more to this story that I don't even know where to begin. People "asking for what they want" takes on completely different contexts depending on their situation, background, gender. The system you are advocating will always pay more to the privileged, encourage a competitive, low-trust culture, and disadvantage many skilled people for reasons out of their control. Ultimately, it's the company that will miss out on the best talent.
    - wpietri 13y ago
      Yes, exactly.
prawn 13y ago
"And then they will leave." Surely that's a risk that a company takes knowingly and can adjust if they wish?

wpietri 13y ago

100% agreed. I absolutely hate salary systems that give an advantage to people who are pushy, jerky, entitled, or privileged. Some of the best developers I know are pleasant, friendly, modest, don't like confrontation, and pay more attention to the work and the team than how much they're pocketing. Those people shouldn't be paid less.

nsxwolf 13y ago
Is asking for what you want pushy? I'm not sure we want to be praising people for being good little doormats. Learn to defend your work and ask for what you deserve.
- wpietri 13y ago
  Asking for what you want isn't necessarily pushy. And yes, people should learn to ask for what they deserve. But knowing what you deserve is a complicated art that involves measuring yourself against your coworkers and your industry, and having a good working knowledge of the current market. For the people who don't know what they want, some of them are going to err on the side of asking for too little, and some will ask for too much. I would much rather spend my time bringing the shy up than battering the arrogant down to something reasonable.
- loomio 13y ago
  There is so, so much more to this story that I don't even know where to begin. People "asking for what they want" takes on completely different contexts depending on their situation, background, gender. The system you are advocating will always pay more to the privileged, encourage a competitive, low-trust culture, and disadvantage many skilled people for reasons out of their control. Ultimately, it's the company that will miss out on the best talent.
  - wpietri 13y ago
    Yes, exactly.

prawn 13y ago

"And then they will leave." Surely that's a risk that a company takes knowingly and can adjust if they wish?