More openness when it comes to salaries: the younger generation breaks the silence about their salaries

People don't talk about money, they say.

And certainly not about salary.

But if you believe a recent survey, at least younger employees cast doubt on the ironclad secrecy on the sensitive topic: According to this, it is more common in age groups up to 34 years to talk to partners or confidants about remuneration and fair pay.

For older colleagues, such topics usually remain a taboo.

Many persistently keep silent about such details, even in intimate circles.

Ulrich Friese

Editor in business.

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Nina Zimmermann can understand the new looseness of the young generation when it comes to salaries.

"By using social media, many people have broken down certain inhibitions in their private lives," says the managing director of Kununu, a German rating platform for employers.

Your findings are based on a representative survey that your company commissioned from YouGov.

Adequate income "most important issue"

Of the 1,095 surveyed employees over the age of 18 who were interviewed in mid-October, 48 percent stated that they were at least discussing salary details with their partner. In addition, an almost equally high proportion of those surveyed indicated that they felt that their employer's pay was not fair. Therefore, there is a great desire for more transparency in the salary structure. After all, 46 percent of the employees surveyed say that more orientation is needed in their company in order to be able to better negotiate the amount of the salary.

According to Zimmermann, an adequate income is “the most important issue that moves employees in Germany”. The factor is right at the top of the respondents' agenda with a share of 33 percent. The corporate culture (22 percent) and demanding "tasks" (15 percent), which also influence job satisfaction, follow at a considerable distance.

"In Germany, salaries are no longer a generally taboo subject, but we are a long way from transparent structures like those in the USA or Great Britain," says Zimmermann.

It is a long process to catch up internationally.

The former Burda manager, who switched to the head of Kununu in June, knows what she is talking about: Born in London, she worked in Great Britain for a long time before she came to Germany 18 years ago and made a name for herself at several start-ups.

German managers rather cautious

Despite the desire for more transparency among employees, there are great reservations in the executive suite. In May, in a survey by YouGov and the Indeed job board, nearly a quarter of 500 executives answered “no” when it comes to disclosing salaries for individual employees. However, 57 percent of the managers surveyed were able to get used to the idea that salary ranges for professional profiles and career levels are published internally. Nevertheless, every fourth manager strictly rejects this approach.

Experts use the story and psychological motives to explain that German managers in particular are keeping such a low profile.

Historians in this country cite the strong anchoring of society in a social and welfare state.

Accordingly, the majority of German citizens are used to the fact that the state takes care of their well-being and that wages and salaries are negotiated primarily by trade unions and associations.

In countries like the USA or Great Britain, on the other hand, the motto is that everyone is responsible for their own material well-being.

Since care in a welfare state leads to winners and losers, it is understandable for psychologists that envy and resentment grow.

It is different in systems in which everyone is the blacksmith of their own fortune.

There, newcomers often enjoy the esteem of their colleagues and neighbors

"Older employees can hardly ignore the traditions in which they grew up," admits Zimmermann.

On the other hand, younger colleagues, who often find out about the industry-standard salaries online, are under pressure for more salary transparency.

“In this way, female employees in particular want to understand the criteria on which their remuneration is based.” In addition, it is becoming increasingly important for young professionals that the employer takes a clear stance on socially relevant issues.

“This applies to climate change as well as to the issue of fair pay,” the Kununu boss is convinced.