[oh_sigh]

Tons of studies show that it is not absolute pay, but pay relative to your coworkers which influences your feelings about fairness and your position in the company. Like it or not, that's how it is.

Do you not understand the logic of people who feel that way, or do you simply not believe in it yourself? If you were getting paid $35k/year to do the same job as everyone else who was getting paid $115k/year, would you feel that it was somewhat unfair?

[jasonlotito]

So what you are really saying is the problem is people knowing other people's salaries? Because unless I'm the exception, the norm is not knowing what people are getting paid.

So, what you are really asking is: If you were getting paid $115k/year to do a job where $115k/year was the normal competitive salary in your area, would you feel that it was somewhat unfair?

I ask this because I wonder what would have happened if he'd not said anything.

[MaulingMonkey]

> So what you are really saying is the problem is people knowing other people's salaries?

There are times when that can be part of the problem.

But it can also be part of the solution, when e.g. the problem is discrimination, lack of consideration for the not-so-squeaky wheel, etc.

[Spooky23]

For most of my career, my salary has been not only known to my coworkers, but to the public at large via the local newspaper.

The impact? Nothing at all.

The only situation where I would be concerned about it would be a case where the company discriminating against people or aggressively ripping the employees off. I've witnessed both.

The big argument here is that the 10x producers are pissed off about others benefiting. The reality is that most of these "10x" people are mythical, and the ones who are real are either getting screwed anyway or make a salary consistent with their value.

[nocman]

"So, what you are really asking is: If you were getting paid $115k/year to do a job where $115k/year was the normal competitive salary in your area, would you feel that it was somewhat unfair?"

^ How in the world did you come to that conclusion? oh_sigh's whole point was that a person would be upset if they knew they were getting much less compensation than others for the same kind of job.

I'm guessing you had a point there, but I'm not sure how the quoted phrase above is supposed to support whatever the point was.

:-D

[jasonlotito]

> How in the world did you come to that conclusion? oh_sigh's whole point was that a person would be upset if they knew they were getting much less compensation than others for the same kind of job.

Well, yeah. But that assumes you know what other people are getting. As I said, I'm assuming most people don't know or share what they are making (at least in the US) with their coworkers.

So, for the average person, this really comes down to the question I asked as most people don't know what others are making (again, total assumption on my part).

And that all comes down to my last statement in my original comment, which I guess is really just a way of saying "ignorance is bliss." And if you are ignorant of what others are making, the question is really as I put it: If you were getting paid $115k/year to do a job where $115k/year was the normal competitive salary in your area, would you feel that it was somewhat unfair? Don't assume $115k/year is higher or lower (you don't know).

I'm not pushing an agenda or anything. Just really wondering.

[sdenton4]

Yeah, it sounds like we're asking to balance some pop psychology against a minimum amount needed for a middle class life. I would emphasize the latter, personally.