'Just came across old HR documents:' IT worker discovers salaries from 10+ years ago compared to now

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
May 28, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

As you'd expect, the discovery here was a disappointing one. If you were expecting some perfect angelic company that took into account inflation and cost of living when it came to salaries, you'd be wrong. Instead, what this Redditor discovered was that the salaries have been the exact same for over 10 years.

 

Here's how the snooping happened. The Redditor works in IT and was tasked with clearing some old hard drives. In other words, his employers clearly did a bad job of hiding this information. When it comes to the topic of salaries, we know very well at this point that employers intend to stifle these types of conversations and brand them as taboo, not for any moral or ethical purposes but rather to keep up the illusion that everyone is being fairly compensated for their labor. Clearly, this IT worker confirmed his suspicions.

 

For more stories like this, here's one about a worker who was denied a much-deserved bonus.

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  • 01
    Musical instrument - option "Just came across old HR documents showing what people made 10+ years ago vs now"
    via Siyuan Hu
  • 02
    Font - Just came across old HR documents showing what people made 10+ years ago vs now I recently was cleaning out some hard drives (im in IT) and came across salaries and hourly wages by position for 2010.
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 03
    Font - To my shock, they were literally nearly IDENTICAL from 2010 to 2023. Even my specific position (sysadmin) i earn 80k, the person who was hired in 2010 was brought in at.... 80k! wtf is up with that?
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 04
    Font - How do companies get away with this? Honestly im thinking, is it my fault? is it our fault? why are we letting companies do this to us? Not sure how to approach this. Talk to boss? find a new job?
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 05
    Rectangle - cooperstonebadge. 19 hr. ago This is why they tell you not to discuss salary. You should leak the info somehow. 8.3k Reply Share
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 06
    Font - Frequent-Rhubarb-677 OP 19 hr. ago good point. i never understand why people dont discuss salary. everyone should be happy to give out salary so they know they are being treated fairly 3.3k Reply Share
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 07
    Font - djb185 19 hr. ago They've trained us to think it's tacky. But really it's just them wanting to be shady without upsetting the ppl who are the backbone of their company. 2.2k Reply Share
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 08
    Font - Frequent- Rhubarb-677 OP 19 hr. ago exactly, its brainwashing 985 ↓ Reply
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  • 09
    Font - iamdrinking 18 hr. ago Send it to the printer and don't pick it up. 782 Reply
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  • 10
    Font - Regulai 19 hr. ago It's called the 6 figure salary illusion. The cultural idea that 6 figures is a "big salary" has created a psychological barrier causing people to fail to notice declining value and accept low salary.
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 11
    Font - You naturally in your head think that only top positions get a 6 figure salary and so think the 80k they offered is reasonable or even "pretty good".
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  • 12
    Font - In reality a six figure salary isn't that much anymore. low-end office jobs in the 90's (40-50k) got the equivalent to today's 100k. In fact inflation is so bad over decades that I would argue its unreasonable for any educated or specialised role to pay less than at least 100k. 2.0k Reply Share
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 13
    Font - floof-monstro. 18 hr. ago. edited 17 hr. ago My rent in 2008 - $410 My salary in 2008 - $56K My rent in 2023 - $1900 My salary in 2023 - $57K 613 Reply Share
    via u/Frequent-Rhubarb-677
  • 14
    Font - djb185 19 hr. ago A lot of times the same job 10-15 years ago even paid more than now. 477 Reply Share
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  • 15
    Font - JarmaBeanhead. 19 hr. ago I think a tough thing too is perception. Just like "Oh ya, $X is how much a whatever job SHOULD make" and perceptions on that salary level clearly shift slower than inflation... Like someone saying "Wow someone flipping burgers should NOT be making $15" instead of saying "If a person flipping burgers needs $15 to barely survive, why am I only making $20?" 4241 Reply Share
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  • 16
    Font - O IamnotyourTwin. 18 hr. ago A major factor that has somehow gone unmentioned is Unions. Those of us that had to get a degree to get a job somehow bought into the propaganda that we don't need unions. If we had more unions we would have a lot more bargaining power. It's not just the combined action, it's also the benefit of having people that have more familiarity with what jobs are paying and what they could be paying. 240 Reply Share ...
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