Disclosing starting salaries in job listings is starting to become a hassle for employers.
Just ask Hannah Williams. He launched his TikTok series, created a series asking strangers for their salaries, and is hearing stories from many newly dissatisfied workers.
“We’ve been getting a lot of messages saying the company has just started posting salary ranges because it’s required by law. They and their colleagues are finding the list to be higher than their current salaries. ’ said the 26-year-old.
“Most of the time, they go to their boss and the boss basically just says, ‘There’s nothing we can do.’ attract.”
This conflict between employees and employers is not uncommon since a number of pay transparency laws were enacted this year. More than a third (36%) of the 1,300 HR professionals surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) said the change would result in more current employees receiving a raise The report found that they began asking about
The problem for employers is that, given that the job market remains strong, employees, especially younger workers, may be stunned to learn they are paid much less than advertised and leave the company. to be higher.
Robin Erickson, vice president of human capital at The Conference Board, told Yahoo Finance, “Rising inflation and labor shortages have forced organizations to raise starting salaries to remain competitive. “However, many employees, upon learning that their newly hired colleagues are earning more, quickly seek out new jobs on their own, creating a vicious cycle of high turnover and vacancies.”
“Hold employers accountable for salary discrepancies.”
State and local laws mandating salary disclosure are gaining momentum with laws taking effect January 1 in California and Washington, with similar legislation coming into effect in New York later this year. Colorado and New York City already have equivalent salary disclosure laws in place, while Maryland and Rhode Island require applicants to provide salary information when requested.
Overall, salary transparency in job listings more than doubled between February 2020 and February this year, rising from 18.4% to 43.7%, according to a new report from online job site Indeed. and is growing even in areas without disclosure requirements. .
“Bridging the pay gap and achieving equal pay for equal work relies heavily on wage transparency or lack thereof,” says Kristen Sher. A Career Trends expert at Indeed told Yahoo Finance: “Not only does it give job seekers more control during negotiations, it also holds employers accountable for wage discrepancies that exist.”
In some cases, however, companies appear unprepared for the implications of these disclosures.
According to Payscale’s recent Compensation Best Practices Report, nearly one-fifth (19%) of organizations publish salary ranges without being sure how their current employees will react . And less than half (49%) of organizations train their admins on paid communications.
“Posting a much higher salary range for an advertised role than current employees are earning in the same role can reduce engagement and motivate employees to start looking for new jobs. Especially when you can, “you need to be able to objectively explain why there are discrepancies,” Lexi Clarke, Payscale’s chief human resources officer, told Yahoo Finance.
“It is important not only to pay employees fairly, but to explain why they are being compensated. Managers can consistently communicate the rationale behind employee salaries. I have to,” she said. ”
“A matter of both respect and fairness”
Erickson said young workers tend to jump on wage discrepancies as wage transparency comes to the fore.
“Our research shows that adequate compensation is both a matter of respect and fairness to Generation Z, and imperative,” she said. “With easy access to online tools that promote wage transparency, such as Glassdoor, Reddit and Blind, Generation Z may be particularly demanding of what they perceive as fair and equal pay.”
That’s what Kimberly Nguyen, 25, did this month. Nguyen works as a contract UX writer for a major bank and found a job posting that sounds like her role: same company, same responsibilities. The listed salary range is her $117,200 to her $175,800, well above what she receives.
“I’m making $85,000,” she told Yahoo Finance. I feel slighted knowing that there are people who have done so and there is such a huge wage disparity between us.”
Nguyen murmured A tweet about her discovery garnered 12.4 million views, 12,000 retweets, and nearly 222,000 likes.
She also sent the job posting to her manager and asked if she could apply for the position. And she went anyway and applied.
“I’m sure you’ll either get the standard auto-reject email or hear nothing,” she said. “And it doesn’t look like I can negotiate more money either. By the nature of us being contractors, our salaries are 100% handled by contractors and unless we convert, they’re not listed.” I am not entitled to the salary I receive.”
It won’t sting out of it.
in follow up Tweet she wrote: in the same job??”
Kerry is a senior reporter and columnist at Yahoo Finance. follow her on her twitter @Kelly Hannon.
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