Pay and conditions are probably the oldest contentious issues between employees and employers. Some businesses are egalitarian in how they treat people. Many aren’t. But employees shouldn’t be penalized when companies aren’t.
The first step is to do the research to see whether you’re underpaid, whether relatively at a company or compared to an industry.
“Research has shown certainly females and underrepresented minorities tend to be the people who are underpaid,” Jill Pante, director of the Lerner Career Services Center at the University of Delaware. “I think there are a lot of psychological things around that. Females tend not to advocate for themselves, and I do find there’s a large population that’s not only underpaid but not taught how to advocate for themselves.”
Not to say that white men are guaranteed equitable pay either. There are employers who want to squeeze as much out of all employees as possible and people aren’t taught about their rights in the workplace. “We’re never told to talk about salaries,” Pante says. “That’s been a taboo subject. I’ve been told you can’t talk about salary, you can’t tell your salary, and I say, ‘Yes I can.’” It’s protected speech under U.S. employment law. Some in a company might not want to discuss with you, but employers cannot legally forbid you from doing so.
Talking to fellow employees who are willing to talk can provide a company baseline. You still need an idea of what pay is like in the industry for someone in a similar position with the same type of education, additional training, and skills. “You could talk to a recruiter who does staffing who may be able to give you information,” Pante says. If you have an outside mentor who might be able to help.” See if your college or university has a “robust alumni network” where someone can offer insight.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has its Occupational Outlook Handbook with extensive lists of jobs by industry. The information includes median pay, job outlook, number of jobs currently, expected employment change, and state and area data.
There are online sites where people post data about their positions and employers, but accuracy is far from guaranteed. “I get some students or alumni who said, ‘I saw this job online and it said I can get $100,000 right out of college,’ and I said, ‘I don’t think so,’” she says. “This is probably not accurate information.”
Looking at online job postings from companies can also misleading. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported on fake job listings. “In an uncertain economy, companies post ads for jobs they might not really be trying to fill,” they wrote. They mentioned a third-party survey of 1,000 hiring managers in which many admitted that “they kept the ads up to give the impression the company was growing.”
There is one point younger workers might not like. You can’t necessarily find important information online. “You do have to talk to other people,” Pante says.