Run naked or reveal salary: Why is pay transparency scarier than streaking?

Many Americans would prefer to bare their bodies instead of their paychecks in the workplace. Twenty-eight million employees said they would rather run naked through the office for all their colleagues to see than reveal their salary earnings, according to a survey by Trusaic, a regulatory compliance software company.

The survey found that pay transparency remains a taboo subject for many workers. The question “Would you like information on everyone’s income to be made publicly available online?” revealed the general attitude of employees:

• More than half of Americans would oppose the United States adopting the practice in Norway where the government publishes online information on everyone’s income for anyone to access.
• More than a quarter would welcome such a system.
• A total of 28 percent were either “strongly in favor” (13 percent) or “slightly in favor” (15 percent).
• A total of 57 percent were either “strongly against” (45 percent) or “slightly against” (12 percent).
• Younger respondents were more than twice as likely as older ones to favor the United States copying Norway in this area.
• More than a third of the 18-to-24 age group liked the idea, compared to one in six of those aged 55-plus.

Only 14 percent of U.S. employees currently know what all their co-workers earn, 32 percent say they don’t know what any of their co-workers earn and 50 percent say they know what only a few or none of their co-workers earn.

The survey also asked employees if they could easily find out — with employer permission — their co-workers’ earnings. Fifty-nine said they don’t have employer permission and easy access, and just 15 percent have employer permission and easy access to find out what all of their co-workers earn. 

“Americans, and the rest of the world for that matter, have much to gain from a pro-pay transparency society, but the survey indicates that there is general reluctance, especially among older audiences, to let others know what they earn,” researchers concluded. “Employers would be wise to heed the call of America’s rising generation of young adults to promote workplace pay transparency.”

A separate study by the Society for Human Resource Management found a correlation between transparency and concerns about pay equity. More than nine in 10 employees who believe their organization is transparent about how pay decisions are made also said they trust that their organization pays people equally for equal work regardless of gender, race and ethnicity. Conversely, only 49 percent of those who believe their organization lacks transparency when it comes to pay decisions trust that employees are being paid equally for equal work.

SHRM also found that fewer than half of HR professionals said their organization is transparent with employees about how pay decisions are made, but 94 percent believe it is important for organizations to exhibit transparency.

“It can be scary to HR leaders, since salaries have long been treated as a taboo subject in the workplace, and the assumption is that open salaries will lead to resentment among employees,” said Shelly Holt, chief people officer at Seattle-based PayScale, a compensation data and software firm.

However, these concerns often don’t reflect reality. “Employees talk, and odds are they already know what their peers are making,” she said. “They also have access to compensation data websites to help them determine how their salaries stack up to the market rate.”

Transparency issues are more important than ever during the current worker shortage.

Employers are engaged in “a hypercompetitive environment for talent, and open platforms are increasing the level of pay information available to current employees and recruits,” said Catherine Hartmann, North America rewards practice leader at consultancy Willis Towers Watson. “Employers that have yet to expand and become more transparent in their pay communication with employees will need to do so as top talent will demand it.”