Why is asking what a person’s salary is so taboo in the workplace?

1.10K viewsEconomicsOther

There’s like this weird culture around it where some may even consider it rude or too personal like it’s equivalent to asking someone their social security number or something
I’ve heard a rumor it’s because companies/bosses don’t want people to talk about their pay between employees because they may find discrepancies compared to their coworkers, but I’m not 100% sure that’s actually why since even their employees consider it taboo.

In: Economics

30 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Even in an ideal situation, unless the company publishes this data, individuals are nervous to share. “Did I not negotiate well for myself?” is a common fear. But so is imposter syndrome, if you’re nervous you might be overpaid. As others have noted, this paranoia works to the company’s advantage, and to the advantage of the high salaried individuals.

You are viewing 1 out of 30 answers, click here to view all answers.