Is it rude to ask someone how much they make?

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Its all on 4oD last I checked. I would check for you but in a bout of pure creepiness...

I can't, cause I am currently in the Middle East.

Black Mirror is fucking wonderful. British Drama is fucking wonderful. Now, I am not saying that we do it better than anyone else. But I am saying that we do it particularly well, with things like Black Mirror and Sherlock as shining examples of how to do things. I have seen poor British dramas though. Let us not forget the promising, yet fucking stupid, Utopia (Was dating a biologist at the time who pointed out that if you caused a quarter of the human race to become infertile you would cause population growth to arrest. If you caused as many as was being indicated to go infertile, you would cause an extinction event.) or the travesty that was Merlin. We do make mistakes. They might be good looking mistakes but still, they are mistakes.

Haha! Weird! There for uni?

As another point of weirdness... is your avatar a pic of you with a pipe? My previous avatar was me with a pipe, before succumbing to one which shows my (ex)moustache better! How long have you smoked the wooden instrument of dreams? And what tobacco/flavour do you use?

I'll have to check later for Black Mirror, as I am at work at the mo, but I hope it is!

I agree... not everything we produce is good... but our industry has developed to gritty dramas the most... probably because of the low production cost. Crime dramas, black comedies, things like Spooks, Gritty Gangster films and period drama seems to be where we do better over action flicks, sci-fis and the like... and because of that our writers show off complex stories or emotional issues to best show them off.

OT: I imagine the whole issue of salary being socially unacceptable comes from the dated class structure in Britain. In period times income was linked to importance, and was oft used to get one over on people, or be the topic of scrutiny and gossip. As much as this may not wholely be the case nowadays, it does still happen, and you don't want peoples perceptions of you to change due to that... Why do you think chavs go round wearing gold and labels like Burberry, Ralph Lauren and Fred Perry? They are expensive makes, and a display of wealth, that may or may not be backed up with actual pay grades.

The other issue I can see arising here is the difference between a job and a career. Asking it of younger people with jobs outside uni or school who earn per hour worked is very different to asking people in full time employment on a yearly salary.

The final issue is from embarrassment. No one wants it to be highlighted that they earn less than their peers... and no one wants to be treated differently (handouts/ charity) by their peers because of pay. It is also embarrassing to admit that you earn more than everyone else. I was the only person in my friends who didn't go to uni... this meant that whilst they were gaining huge debts, I was on a tidy yearly wage in a secure job. Luckily the topic never came up... but I always feared that someone would ask whilst they were comparing uni costs and debts! I would have felt embarrassment if I had to answer that.

 

[Smertnik]

Being British, I'll offer some possible answers.
I'd stress that it isn't seen as rude in the context of, say, an employment discussion with friends, or if you're asking for advice about the profession, but if it were something you asked on first meeting with someone you might be seen as kind of an arse.

I see. I just misinterpreted the topic then. The wording of the issue and the responses made me assume that the whole income discussion is a taboo topic in general. Not asking strangers about their income seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[BodomBeachChild]

Depends on the context of the convo. But you should never, ever tell your coworkers or ask them. You might as well ask to bang their sister. It causes too much trouble.

 

[ViridianV6]

I'm Australian, and like some people said before context is everything.

When there is a service being provided such as auditing or tax returns, asking how much they earn is most likely redundant due to having the necessary paperwork, but if required to it is not rude.

In terms of part time and casual jobs, asking a close friend what they do will eventually lead to them most likely saying their hourly rates without being offended, provided you ask them in a relevant context and don't pressure them to answer.

In a full time job, asking what a person makes is more likely to be considered rude, especially if the asker knows they make more and are merely asking to one up the other person.

My 2c

 

[BabuNu]

In England it's considered rude but I think that it's because "it's always been rude" rather than anyone actually being offended by the question. Generally if I'm in the pub with people and it comes up, no one has any real problem with saying how much they earn.

FYI - Just over £40k

 

[surg3n]

It depends on if it's more or less than the person asking makes

Typically, people ask that when they are wondering if you make more, or they have an idea how much they think you should make. Either way it's not the best thing to talk about. Personally, when people discuss that I prefer to keep quiet, usually I earn more, and I don't feel comfortable pointing that out, making someone feel less valued - I prefer to be sympathetic when people complain about how much they earn, and oblivious when people brag about how much they earn.

Doesn't matter to me anyway, no matter how much money I make, there's always a bill waiting for more than that :/

 

[Alexander Kirby]

I think it is, but actually I don't know why. I seem to be against the grain but I really don't mind when someone asks me. It is private information and you shouldn't feel pressured to tell someone, but I've never seen why people are offended by it.

I think some people may feel embarrassed if they earn more than someone else. It's like the opposite of why some people like to tell how bad off they are in order to gain your sympathy.

 

[Raikas]

I've always been told that money, religion, and sex are the three topics one should never discuss in polite company.

That said, I wish money talk wasn't so taboo. I think it's useful to know what people are making - how else do you know if you're underpaid for your position if you don't know what other people in similar roles are making? And how do you negotiate a salary if you can't talk about the standards?

 

[Combustion Kevin]

It's only rude when you make more than they do.

That wouldn't really work as you would have to ask them to know that in most cases.

What can I say, it's a minefield.

 

[Aramis Night]

The only reason people think find it rude is because employers have ingrained it in us that we shouldn't be talking about how badly they are screwing over their workers. It allows them to underpay employees and hide favoritism/discrimination. It's what enabled C.E.O.'s to go from making 40 times their average employee's salary in the 80's to over 300 times at present. When I hear that someone is only making poverty wages while working reliably full time, that shouldn't reflect shame on that individual, it should reflect shame on that employer. I work for a small business and I make very little money, but at least my employer makes it a point to apologize for being unable to pay me what I'm worth(I see the books so I know its true), and I'm ok with that. But that isn't a negative reflection of shame on me. I make the choice to work their because I like my job, despite the low pay. Employers on the other hand have no right to expect that level of devotion as a default.

 

[mysecondlife]

Its a personal information, so yeah it depends on situation.

Falls in the category along with

"Who did you vote for?"
"What is your sexual orientation?"
"What does your medical history say?"

etc.