3/4/26
I don’t like the idea of companies not allowing the sharing of explicit levels. I think this can be rooted in a well meaning egalitarian place. I don’t think its a good idea though.
I think The Tyranny of Structurelessness goes into some of the problems here well.
- There is always hierarchy, even if you do not explicitly acknowledge said hierarchy
- Claiming “there is no hierarchy” is a way that those with implicit power via an unrecognized hierarchy maintain their power
Separately, at work specifically, your employer has more information about you and your coworkers than you do. They can use this information (intentionally or not) to discriminate on things like compensation. Telling employees that they cannot share salary of leveling information with their coworkers puts them in a worse negotiation position that benefits the company.
If I’m not allowed to know that a coworker doing less than me is getting paid more, how can I argue for an increase in pay?