importance of pay secrecy and supporting the employers’ assertion of the benefits of the pay secrecy
Pay secrecy is, for sure a known and common policy that many corporations, particularly in the US, have utilized to prohibit employees from discussing their pay. The pay secrecy policy has however, had criticisms from many factions including employees and researchers. They believe that pay secrecy is illegal and dysfunctional because it demotivates employees and sometimes makes them feel about quitting their jobs. David Burkus even analyzes that pay transparency could surely benefit both the employers and employees as opposed to the assertion of many employers that the policy only helps them and the workplace at large (Burkus, 2016). Nonetheless, this paper analyzes the importance of pay secrecy and supporting the employers’ assertion of the benefits of the pay secrecy.
I concur with David Burkus that one of the core objectives of employers in to minimize their cost as possible and to have pay secrecy in place, the employers can save lots of money when it comes to factors such as hiring salary raise discussions or promotions. Such talks could go against many employers if the employees knew some of the secrets such as how much their colleagues earn as compared to them. It is also true that pay secrecy tends to reduce conflicts in the workplace that might arise when an employer discovers that he or she earns less than a colleague whom they work in the same position (Nosenzo, 2013). Such conflicts might significantly affect the performance of affected employees and the overall productivity of the workplace.
Although employees have a right to equality and transparency, the employers also must strategize on how well to manage their employees and reduce conflicts. Conflicts, when they occur, can escalate to disaster especially if, almost all employees discover uneven pay criteria amongst themselves. Employers, therefore, have for decades, assert that pay secrecy is the best way to manage an organization and prevent conflicts from arising (Lawler, 2012). It also provides the management with ample time to rectify some of the unjust decisions that they might have made in the past. This correction is made internally without interfering with the everyday performance of the employees or raising tension and unnecessary temperatures in the workplace.