Your money or your wife

Canadians will reveal paycheque size <br>before love life details: survey

There are certain things that just aren’t talked about in polite conversation, but it seems Canadians are happy to talk paycheques whilst refraining from locker-room chat.

According to the third annual ADP Payday Poll, a survey of more than 1,000 Canadians conducted on behalf of payroll provider ADP, 52 per cent of Canadians would tell a friend how much money they make, but only 22 per cent would disclose the intimate details of their love life.

The survey also found that tight-lipped Anglophones are 10 per cent less likely to kiss and tell than their Francophone cousins with only 19 per cent of English-speaking Canadians admitting to spilling the beans on their love life and 29 per cent of French-speaking Canadians admitting to the same.

"Canadians still believe that what happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom, but what's printed on their pay stub may no longer be taboo," said Sheryl Boswell, director, marketing and communications, ADP Canada.

According to the poll, more than 34 per cent of respondents have disclosed their salary information to a colleague. Iain Morris, a principal with Mercer Human Resource Consulting was surprised that the percentage wasn’t higher.

“This is the age of disclosure, for this reason most HR professionals work under the general assumption that employees will talk to each other about how much they get paid and so they ensure employees are paid fairly for their contribution to the organization," he said.

"Everyone knows how much employees under a collective agreement are paid. In the public sector anyone who earns more than $100,000 has their salary disclosed and the top five highest paid employees in a public company have their earnings made public.”

The survey also revealed that 10 per cent of respondents had aired their financial linens to a stranger, 45 per cent tell their best friend and only 72 per cent of Canadians divulge their salary to their spouse or partner.

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