Ask a Manager: 5 reasons your co-worker makes more money than you do

Monday, November 1, 2010

5 reasons your co-worker makes more money than you do

Learning that a co-worker earns more than you do can be infuriating, particularly if you’re doing roughly the same work at roughly the same level.

Over at U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about five reasons that might explain the disparity. Check it out here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...: They forgot:

Your co-worker is a MAN; November 1, 2010 at 12:25 PM
Ask a Manager said...: Ha, actually I think I covered that under reason #1 -- he negotiated better than you when he was hired. In my experience, male/female pay disparity in similar roles is often caused by the fact that men negotiate and women don't. Not all of it, of course. But a lot of it.; November 1, 2010 at 12:35 PM
JC said...: I agree with all these points, as well as the fact that many women don't negotiate as much as men do. I kept this in mind as I was negotiating the salary for my new job. I was determined to negotiate! But then I found out the position was grant funded and there was a fixed salary for the time being. I would have liked to get a bit more, but the salary is a good "entry level" amount so I can work with it for the time being.

In my last job, working there for only a year got me the same pay as the rest of my co-workers. I didn't even ask for a raise (it went by seniority and everyone knew it) but they told me I did such a good job I deserved the extra money. I was told not to tell anyone (which I wasn't planning to) because my boss felt it would bother my co-workers too much. I think discussing your wage and salary is a bit rude and arrogant anyway. As long as it pays your bills, and you are getting a fair wage for your work, no one else in the office needs to know about it.; November 1, 2010 at 1:29 PM
Anonymous said...: You forgot a lot. Along with "he is a man" (and thanks for blaming the victims there, Allison, classy!) you can add:

1. they are white
2. they are skinnier
3. they are of a higher class background
4. they came in as a "consultant"
5. your boss is trying to force you to leave
6. they are friends with a higher-up
7. they are f-ing someone higher-up

These are all waaaay more likely that your "gee whiz, there's got to be a good reason!" naivete.; November 2, 2010 at 4:30 PM
Ask a Manager said...: What I wrote about are what I think are the most common. I've been clear that the other situations certainly happen too, but what I wrote about are what I've seen as the most common reasons in my experience. It's easy to cry discrimination when the explanation is actually something else entirely. That doesn't mean discrimination doesn't happen, but there's nothing to indicate it's the most common explanation.; November 2, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Kara said...: It's well documented that women don't negotiate as much as men. That's not blaming the victim, Anon. But how classy to be anonymous and attacking someone else.; November 2, 2010 at 8:56 PM
Anonymous said...: There are many well researched reasons for the "wage-gap" between women and men anon 4:30. Some are logical some are less so.

For example, as Allison pointed out here, women negotiate less aggressively then men. However, evidence also suggests that when women do negotiate aggressively (eg like a man) they are less likely to be rewarded for it.

However, that is sort of beside Allison's point of "why your coworker earns more than you." The vast majority of the time this is based on actual discernable facts that are within your control. Giving up control to what other people are doing that you are incapable of is unproductive at best.; November 3, 2010 at 3:16 PM