If you know how much everyone at your job makes, then you can see if you are getting screwed. If someone asks me how much I make at my job, why would I give a flying **** about telling them? Am I supposed to be embarrassed that it is too low? Or am I supposed to be worried that they will get mad if it is too high?

But try asking someone how much they make and watch them squirm.

Opacity on this matter prevents individuals from making well informed decisions when negotiating with an employer. It's kind of rude to ask a stranger or casual acquaintance for ****s and gigs, but employers frown on it because it would just lead to them paying more for everyone instead of only those assertive enough to demand bigger raises.

yeah i am not really talking about strangers on the train, just coworkers or people in the same trade/business.

Grunch: I'd feel obligated to pick up all the checks.

People view salary as an indicator of self worth. If everyone knows your salary you can't act more well to do than you really are, and if you can't fool people you don't give a **** about into thinking you are something you arent, then youre less likely to be neck deep in debt, and the entire economy collapses.

^ lol sad but true

In one company I worked for, it was written into our contracts explicitly that discussion of salaries was a disciplinary offence.

good question. most people have no problem asking how much a poker player makes, but shrivel up when it's directed back towards them.

So what's your salary, OP?

$0

It's not in Norway.

This

If you know then that you get less than someone with similar job you will feel screwed. If you know that you get more you will either wonder who gets even more or feel that you screw those who gets less. In all directions it is pretty uncomfortable feeling.

But.....

I found out that it is pretty productive feeling. I left my first job in which I had been for 9 years after I found out the salary level of few colleagues and my then boss. It was one of the best decisions in my career. I clearly remember this feeling. It was that they don't treat me fair. I learned to negotiate harder, but also to see all perks beside the salary that I have. Basically it made me approach more consciously every position I had since then, to really think about what do I get. My salary right now 70k /y is definitely not the highest for my education and experience but the whole job package is like I want it to have. I don't feel treated unfair.

I agree with Alobar. Also America is a socially 'classless' society but the human tribe needs to make divisions within itself. So Mericans use money to do that. If you tell someone what you make, they can judge what a piece of **** you are.

So that way the business you work for can lowball the **** out of you. Apparently this is the true cause of women getting lower pay, they don't sit there and negotiate for more money as much as men do. Best thing you can ever do is get a sense of what everyone else is making that does the same job as you so you don't get bent over by some boss that can make a few more $$ off of you.

i dont pay any taxes so i dont like telling anyone what i make. i mean im not a balla but i like keeping 100% of my income.

There is certainly resentment toward those who are paid more that is often accompanied by searching for proof that they are not worth it. I don't want to look at people that way or be looked at that way. I'd rather not know.

I think even poker players shrivel.
I had asked a regular grinder that I have played with 50+ times how much he was making and he got really offended that I asked.

I also don't get all the secretiveness among people of the same industry. All of my guy friends in Engineering know what I make and I know what they make. I searched my companies salaries and almost every engineer not in management is paid the same across all groups, so I don't really care how much people I work with make here.

you seen their paystubs?

I hesitate to say most, but a lotta people lie when you ask them about salary. They prefer to give you the impression they either make more, less or the same as you depending on your relationship and why they think you want the info. I don't mind telling people what I make, (varies from less than zero to max of about 600K), but I DO mind people asking me what my net worth is. I just shrug and tell them I don't really know and point out that I have mortgages and loans like everyone else.

People ask you what your net worth is? Lol. I only know the net worth of my brother and a really good friend and I certainly didn't ask either of them.

Asking about someone's salary is a bit rude imo but my bf sees no reason not to with people that are close to you. It depends on the context. If I knew someone pretty well and they were in my industry or in an industry I was thinking of switching to I wouldn't consider it as rude to ask/be asked. Often though I think people are just being nosey so I decline to answer. This is particularly so if you are self-employed. My bf is much more open about money than I am though so maybe it's me.

My 25 year old daughter lives in NYC and has a full-time-with-benefits administrative position at a non-profit agency. I have no idea what she earns. She never brought it up, and since I'm not supporting her anymore, I don't believe it's my business to ask her.

It’s none of your damn business. That’s why.

As a poker player, I don't want people to know how much I make, especially my regular opponents. They very clearly underestimate me. A conversation recently came up where I casually asked a couple of other players how much they thought the best players in the game were making. Sure, it may be a bit of a brag that my win rate seems to be significantly higher than their guesses, but my point is that I want my opponents to underestimate me. I won't insult the intelligence of regs and try to claim that I am not that good. They may be horrible players, but they recognize that I seem to win a lot more than they do. But I will try to get them to underestimate how much I win. I don't want them to figure out how valuable it is to fold preflop.

I've noticed that some bad players like to brag about how much they make and how the money on the table is relatively meaningless to them, implying that if they cared more, they would try harder and have better results. I have no interest in getting sucked into some sort of dick-measuring contest. I prefer a modest car that I bought used and a modest home that has no more space than needed and modest clothes where I am not paying for a label.

I work in IT so at some places I knew what EVERYONE made.

But it is certainly true that I would look at some people and think "That guy makes $xxx for what HE does? Holy crap". It was also interesting that a bookkeeper in my dept was making 50% of what I started at, but within 3 years was making 120%. Sure enough, it was revealed later the boss was schtupping her.

I don't know. But if it's information that would be helpful for me I never feel shy about asking. For example, when someone I know well enough to ask is leaving my company, especially if they are in a similar role as me.

I mean another aspect of it is people do not want to have their names dropped in negotiations. If someone uses my salary as leverage to negotiate a raise I then become tied to that person when my raise is considered in the future.