Key takeaways
Compare roles that are as similar as possible, focusing more on the actual duties than on the job title.Make sure you are using the same reference points. Gross annual salary, monthly salary and hours worked should be consistent when making comparisons.Take into account professional experience, level of responsibility, specialist knowledge and the region before drawing conclusions from a difference in salary.Do not just compare the basic salary. Bonuses and additional benefits can alter the overall package.Where possible, use several points of comparison. A single colleague’s salary is just one indication; current market data provides a better context.
What do others earn in comparable roles? And how does my own pay compare? You don’t necessarily have to ask your colleagues directly to compare salaries: up-to-date salary data provides reliable benchmarks.
Not everyone is keen to talk about their own salary. Nevertheless, it can certainly be interesting to know how your own pay compares. What matters, however, is what you compare yourself against. The salary of the colleague at the desk next to you tells only one part of the story. The picture only becomes complete when you take into account additional factors such as differences in duties, responsibilities or professional experience.
In this article, you will read about:
Am I allowed to talk to my colleagues about pay?
Yes, in principle, employees are allowed to discuss their own pay with their colleagues. An employer cannot impose a blanket ban on this. Even a confidentiality clause in the employment contract is not automatically valid.
This scenario is a common occurrence in many places: you are having an after-work beer with the team. In a relaxed atmosphere, someone in the group plucks up the courage to ask the question that’s burning in your mind too: “So, how much do you actually earn?”
But instead of the answer you were hoping for, there is an awkward silence. You don’t talk about money – this attitude is still deeply ingrained in many people. Added to this is the worry that the mood will change if it comes out that someone is earning significantly more for similar work.
Some employees are also unsure whether they’re even allowed to disclose their salary to others. Legally speaking, there’s generally nothing to prevent them from doing so.
Whether you actually want to be open about your salary is another matter. It remains a sensitive issue for many people, which is why a ‘no’ should be accepted as an answer if you are asked about your earnings or if you ask this question yourself.
How can I find out what my colleagues earn?
You will usually only find out the exact salary of individual colleagues if they tell you themselves. If they are unwilling or unable to discuss it, external salary data can help you compare your own pay with comparable roles in the job market.
The Salary Guide from Robert Half enables you to make such a comparison. It shows current starting salaries for numerous roles in Switzerland and is based, amongst other things, on real salary data from successful placements. Using the Salary Calculator, you can also search specifically by role for the cities Zurich and Geneva, enabling you to better assess where your own salary currently stands.
The advantage is that you are not basing your assessment on a single colleague’s salary, but on a larger database. Whilst this doesn’t answer the question of exactly how much your office neighbours earn, it is helpful for assessing your own market value.
When is a salary comparison truly meaningful?
A salary comparison is particularly reliable when the roles and working conditions being compared are actually similar. Having the same job title alone is not necessarily enough.
So take a closer look: what tasks does the other person carry out? Do they have more responsibility? Do they have more professional experience or sought-after specialist knowledge? Such differences can be reflected in the salary. According to the Robert Half Salary Guide, employers are aligning pay more closely to specialised capabilities, and, in some cases, exceeding budgeted salary ranges to compete for top talent in 2027.
Location also plays a role in the comparison. A market-rate salary can vary considerably from region to region.
Finally, it is worth looking beyond the basic salary alone, as additional incentives can significantly alter the overall remuneration package. The salary figures in the Robert Half Salary Guide refer to starting salaries when taking up a new position (bonuses and other additional benefits are not included).
In practice, however, such extras do play an important role, particularly when there is little room to negotiate base salary. Find out which additional benefits are currently most common and sought after.
A colleague’s salary can therefore give you an initial indication. However, for a more accurate salary comparison, you should consider several factors.
My colleagues earn more – what can I do about it?
If you realise that your colleagues are earning more, your first instinct is obvious: something isn’t quite right. However, it’s rarely quite that simple.
First, check whether the salaries are actually comparable. Do you find differences in roles, responsibilities, professional experience or skills? This may explain part of the difference. Joining the company later or having been more successful in salary negotiations can also be valid reasons.
If the pay gap is still noticeable, it’s worth having a chat with your manager. Simply pointing to what others are earning won’t help much. Arguments relating to your own work carry more weight: what responsibilities do you have? What results have you achieved? What additional tasks have you taken on? And how does your salary compare with the current market?
This is precisely where an external salary comparison can help. It provides a more neutral benchmark than the salaries of individual colleagues and gives you a better basis for discussing your own remuneration.
Be careful to avoid the ‘comparison trap’. Knowing that someone else earns more can be frustrating. But this information will only help your own salary progression if you use it to develop specific arguments and plan your next steps.
How does a salary comparison help me in salary negotiations?
The results of a salary comparison allow you to put your salary expectations into a realistic context. If you know what salaries are typical for your role and in your region, you can better gauge your scope for negotiation and identify what range is plausible before you go into the discussion.
However, a discrepancy with the market should not be your only argument. Link it to your personal development within the company: have you taken on additional responsibility, taken on new tasks or achieved demonstrable successes? Then you can show why not only the market, but also your own performance, justifies a pay rise.
Before the discussion, form as clear a picture as possible of your target salary. A specific figure, backed up by clear reasoning, is easier to discuss than a general wish to earn ‘a bit more’ in the future. And if there is currently no scope for a base salary increase, additional benefits can also form part of the negotiation.
Knowing what others earn helps you to put your own salary into perspective. However, a comparison only becomes truly meaningful when you take into account roles, responsibilities, experience and other contextual factors. Up-to-date market data provides a broader basis for this than the salaries of individual colleagues. This also makes it easier to assess whether a discussion about your own remuneration is even appropriate.
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Bildquelle: Canvastock@Robert Half
