YOUNGER GENERATIONS ARE WILLING TO POST HOW MUCH THEY MAKE ONLINE

Even as salary transparency discussions have picked up in recent years, a majority of people are hesitant to discuss money with others even though they think it would improve their lives.

Some 62% of Americans say they don’t talk about money, even though 66% believe more open conversations around it are key to achieving “financial freedom,” according to a new survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Empower, a financial planning site.

More people would even rather post how much they make online than bring it up with co-workers.

Roughly 34% of Americans surveyed say they’d post their salary information on LinkedIn, and younger professionals are even more eager to do so — 53% of Gen Zers and 58% of millennials say they’d post how much money they make online.

That online component could have a ripple effect that gets more people discussing their pay, even if it’s not on a one-to-one level, says Carol Waddell, president of Empower Personal Wealth.

“Growing up, people were discouraged from talking about money,” she says. “But when you post things online, it gives you a way to do it where you’re not face-to-face with someone, so it’s not as personal as having an individual conversation where you’re boasting about your wages. Instead, you’re presenting information in a forum where people are seeking different data.”

Most people avoid money discussions with colleagues even though they think it would improve their workplace

There’s a big gap between people who would publicize their pay online and those who’d actually have the conversation in real life.

Just 19% of people have asked their co-workers how much they make, and 68% say they avoid uncomfortable money discussions at work entirely.

But a majority want to discuss pay in the workplace: 56% of those surveyed say they wish discussing salaries wasn’t taboo and that open salary discussions would help them avoid miscommunications and motivate them to work harder.