Although current market conditions have given workers an unprecedented amount of leverage, the idea of pay transparency began to gain traction even before the pandemic. Evan Murphy started collaborating with two of his coworkers to secure higher compensation a few years ago.

The 26-year-old said they were all offered starting salaries of $60,000 as new college grads. While it seemed like a good offer at the time, they changed their mind after researching the market rate for engineers with similar experience.

The trio approached their boss to ask for more money, but they started hunting for new jobs when their company failed to give them a raise as promised. Once the three engineers informed their manager that they were all interviewing at other companies that were offering higher pay, Murphy said it “lit a fire” under his employer, which gave them each a $5,000 raise.

“People are generally very frustrated with the status quo, especially younger people who feel like they've been through once-in-a-lifetime economic turmoil,” Murphy explained. “If we're being taken advantage of, then it's better if we are able to make each other aware of that.”

Online Transparency
Social media and a growing awareness of pay disparities are also encouraging people to speak up.

Josh Buchea, 40, spent much of his teenage years on the internet and is “comfortable” being transparent online. Sharing his salary on Twitter was a natural next step. 

In July 2019, Buchea tweeted his compensation history as a software developer after learning about the gender wage gap. His candor prompted a flood of other users to share their salary history in various industries, from tech to design.

Although Buchea was “nervous” about how his employers might respond, he “decided that the reward was worth the risk.”

“I’m a little bitter at the state of the world. I have a lot of student loan debt and my family is having trouble finding a home that we can afford,” he said. “Younger generations are not the kind to go along with the status quo.”

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.

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