How much you earn has traditionally been a private matter with few employees choosing to discuss it with anyone other than their manager or a recruiter.
However, research has found that younger people are much more open about their take home pay when speaking to their partner and friends than previous generations.
The research, from the Saltus Wealth Index Report, showed that under 25s are twice as likely to talk about what they are paid compared to baby boomers.
Almost two fifths of people under 25 (37 percent) said they know what their close friends earn and 35 percent have shared their own earnings with friends.
Half of 18-24 year olds said they have told their partner what they earn and are less likely to keep their earnings separate, compared to 27 percent of people who are over 25.
A third of people over 55 said they have never shared what they earn with anyone, which is in contrast to just one in ten under 55s.
While just 19 percent of over 55s said they know what their friends earn and their friends know what they earn.
As part of its sixth Wealth Index Report, Saltus asked 2,000 UK adults with assets of £250k or more about how open they are about what they earn and found that generation Z is much more likely to discuss money than millennials, gen X or boomers.
Megan Jenkins, chartered financial planner and partner at Saltus, said: “The openness of younger generations when it comes to discussing money is a real cultural shift. This is likely to have been fuelled by a number of factors, including social media, economic pressures and a drive for fairness.
“Unlike older generations who avoided discussing finances, gen Z sees sharing earnings as normal, influenced by social media content creators who post content sharing their job titles, industries and salaries, and encourage their followers to have open discussions about fairer finances. There are also lots of entrepreneurs who will openly discuss their income streams.
“It is likely that economic challenges like student debt and how difficult it is to get on the housing ladder have fostered a certain level of solidarity between younger generations, encouraging them to have ‘we’re all in the same boat’ type conversations.
“And while it’s great that younger generations are breaking the taboo around discussing money, it’s essential for young people to seek professional advice to ensure they’re making informed decisions rather than relying on information found online.”
