Yahoo Finance Unspoken work rule divides young and old Aussie workers: 'Fraught with danger'
"If a company is hiding people's salaries, why is that?"
Australians speaking openly about what they earn are being warned they are putting their jobs at risk, but the founder of an app that encourages pay transparency argues doing so benefits workers.
Traditionally, there’s been a tightly held view in Australia that workers should not discuss what they are getting paid, whether that’s in a professional or personal setting. But, in the past eight weeks, GetAhead has been posting candid snippets of interviews from predominantly young people on the street disclosing the nitty gritty about their pay, their hours and the realities of their roles. In doing so, they’ve amassed more than 100 million organic social views.
The demand among younger workers to know more about their potential market value is one of the reasons CEO and founder of the dating-app-style recruitment system Sam McNamara made it compulsory for companies to list salary expectations when advertising a job on the platform.
“I think the question to ask is, ‘If a company is hiding people’s salaries, why is that?’” McNamara told Yahoo Finance. “We are headed to a point where it will be 100 per cent completely transparent, and I think it will make for a fairer workplace.
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“It is a big thing for young job seekers, who are looking for fast work, not to get strung along or offered random amounts. Why should someone of the same skill set not have the same pay as the next?”
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Recent research from Robert Half found 52 per cent of workers surveyed had discussed what they earned with colleagues. That “major shift in the workplace” is most evident in Gen Z employees, where that number jumps to 86 per cent.
But, as we move through generational lines, there are fewer and fewer workers who admit to having the discussion - 59 per cent of Millennials and just four in 10 for Gen X and Baby Boomers.
Interestingly, a Yahoo Finance poll of more than 3,000 readers found 58 per cent were happy to discuss their wage if it meant they were going to be paid fairly, while those who wanted to keep the information between them and their boss at at 8 per cent.
Should you speak openly about what you get paid? Risks and reward
Director of Superior People Recruitment Graham Wynn argues that discussing what you get paid can create unwanted animosity or friction in the workplace.
Wynn said some workers could face the sack for discussing confidential pay information and that many companies “frown upon” workers who openly disclose their income.
“Most companies I’ve worked for, and still work with, always say that ‘if you discuss salaries, we will sack you’ because it’s private, confidential information and it causes disruption in the office,” he told Yahoo Finance. “It’s something I’ve never discussed and would never discuss.”
He said it was difficult to determine like-for-like comparisons, given people’s differing skill sets and experience, as well as differences between companies.
If you think you’re not being paid the appropriate amount, check online to see the market value, and go to your employer. But instead of pointing out someone else’s earnings, Wynn recommended talking about your experience, what was expected of you and how you were going above and beyond.
“I think it's fraught with danger going into a major company and saying, ‘Well, I want an extra 10 grand because that person working over there, or a friend of mine is’,” Wynn said. “That’s never going to go down well because a salary increase should be a negotiation based around what you do.”
He cited an example of a younger woman applying for a receptionist position who asked for $70,000 because that was what her mother was paid.
“She had less than 12 months’ experience, her mum has spent 20 years doing it and you can’t compare the two,” he said. “So, doing that kind of research, asking what other people get paid is not a great way of working because it’s all relative.
“Now, there is government legislation saying companies need to show salaries between male and females to make sure there is no disparity. I am against that, totally. What I earn is what I negotiate with my manager.”
According to Fair Work, an employee has the right to discuss or withhold information about what they are paid, and can’t be forced either way, with the pay secrecy terms no longer applicable from December 2022.
“Employers can’t take adverse action against an existing or future employee because of these rights, or to prevent an existing or future employee from exercising these rights,” the government website states.
Visionary approach encouraged as more Aussies set to be unemployed
Robert Half regional director Sandra Lavoy said the tight labor market had helped push the conversation of pay transparency from the taboo corners of professional life, but the scales could be tipping, now that the unemployment rate is up.
The latest unemployment data showed a rise to 4.1 per cent, which economist Stephen Koukoulas said could peak at 5 per cent under the Reserve Bank’s crackdown on inflation. That statistic coming to fruition would see “a further 125,000 to 150,000 added to the ranks of the unemployed”, he wrote for Yahoo Finance.
McNamara is quite literally in the business of reducing that number and said he was encouraged by the number of companies throwing off the shackles of tradition and hiring in new and refreshing ways that more young people found accessible.
“You do have those people out there who say this is how it should be, this is how it’s always been. But things have to evolve at some stage,” he said.
“It’s quite funny. We have had some pretty big companies reach out and say, ‘Hey, we don’t want our salaries to be disclosed’. We push back, then see them on our platform three months later posting a job with the wage.
“When we first launched … companies were like, ‘OK, this is a really cool concept but we’re used to using the old-school ways like resumes’. But, since we’ve been so dominant in the job seeker market it’s really cool to see some companies come on board and change the way they hire as well.”
GetAhead’s audience is 34 and under, offering primarily hospitality and retail jobs “from storeman to store manager, from chefs to floor staff”. Users have the chance to work with big brands like Domino’s, Nike, Samsung, Lorna Jane or Tesla.
McNamara said those target industries had an average staff turnover of six months, which not only puts more people out there looking for work more regularly, it also puts pressure on those hiring.
“It’s expensive to put an ad up every month, particularly small businesses, which are turning over every six months. It becomes really crippling, especially in this [economic climate],” he said.
The app allows jobseekers to match with companies, and vice versa, and facilitates interviews. It has managed to secure a job for someone in four-and-a-half minutes.
McNamara hopes more transparency can increase retention rates in the industry.
“We are finding that’s because when they get a job, they don’t know what’s really on offer or if it fits their personality or goals,” he said.
“So it is a matter of being upfront.”
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