The Biggest Secret in Every Office: I Wish I Had Never Found Out What My Co-Workers Were Making|08/07/2026 | Stephen Says Column

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Dear Stephen,

Something happened at work that I can't seem to get out of my head.

I work for a furniture manufacturer, and through an honest mistake I accidentally saw confidential salary information. I wasn't snooping. During a budgeting meeting, the wrong Excel spreadsheet appeared on the screen, and before anyone realized what had happened, I had already seen enough names and numbers to know what people throughout the company were making.

I expected the CEO and senior executives to make substantial salaries, but that wasn't what surprised me. What shocked me was seeing people with similar jobs earning dramatically different amounts of money. I also noticed several long-time employees making less than newer hires, while one executive I thought was among the company's most valuable people was making much less than I expected.

Ever since then, I look at everyone differently. Every meeting reminds me of what I saw, and I can't stop wondering whether people know they're underpaid, overpaid, or simply negotiated a much better deal. I almost wish I had never seen the spreadsheet because I can't seem to unsee it.

How do I stop thinking about it?

Signed,

I Know Too Much

Dear I Know Too Much,

In more than forty years leading The Viscusi Group, I've learned there are very few secrets inside a company more closely guarded than compensation. Every company says its people are its greatest asset, yet most companies work very hard to make sure nobody knows what those assets are actually paid.

I've heard versions of your story more than once. Years ago, it might have been a payroll report left in a conference room. Today, it's usually an Excel spreadsheet shared during a Teams meeting, the wrong attachment sent in an email, or a compensation file that lands in the wrong hands. However it happens, the outcome is almost always the same. Once people know what everyone else makes, they never quite look at the workplace the same way again.

Let's not kid ourselves. Employees have always been fascinated by what everyone else earns. It may be the last great mystery in business. Every promotion, every new car, every expensive vacation, every move into a larger home becomes another clue in the office guessing game. Then, one day, the guessing stops. For a brief moment, you've uncovered what many employees believe is pure gold.

The irony is that after all those years of wondering, you discover the information isn't nearly as valuable as you imagined. What you really wanted to know wasn't what everyone else made. What you really wanted to know was whether the company valued you fairly, because that's the question that keeps people awake at night.

The spreadsheet doesn't create envy; it simply gives envy a dollar amount. Yesterday, your co-worker was simply someone you respected. Today, they're the person making $35,000 more than you. Nothing about them changed overnight. Only your perception changed, and that can change everything!

At The Viscusi Group, we've negotiated thousands of executive compensation packages, and one lesson has remained remarkably consistent: compensation rarely follows a neat formula. It reflects performance, but it also reflects timing, leverage, competing offers, geography, relocation, retention agreements and, sometimes, how badly a company needed one particular person at one particular moment. The spreadsheet tells you what someone earns, but it tells you almost nothing about why they earn it.

That doesn't mean companies always get compensation right. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes I see is rewarding loyalty with small annual increases while paying whatever it takes to recruit someone new. Over time, exceptional employees quietly fall behind the market. Then a recruiter calls, and management is genuinely surprised when one of its best people resigns.

So now you know what everyone makes. Congratulations—you've uncovered the office's biggest secret. The problem is that you've also discovered it's almost impossible to do anything productive with that information. You can't negotiate from it because you don't know the circumstances behind every salary, you can't unknow it, and all you've really done is replace curiosity with comparison.

If seeing those salaries convinces you you're underpaid, stop comparing yourself with the person in the next office and find out what the marketplace thinks you're worth. Throughout my career, I've become convinced that companies don't determine your value. The marketplace does because that's the only opinion backed by someone willing to write a paycheck.

Knowing what everyone else makes has never made anyone happier. Knowing what you're worth has changed thousands of careers, and that's where I would keep my focus.

Stephen Stephen Viscusi is the founder of www.viscusigroup.com, an executive search firm that specializes in the interior furnishings industry. Hires made through The Viscusi Group are guaranteed a one-year free replacement. Please share your story or comment on this article and send your workplace questions to stephen@viscusigroup.com. Or give us a call at (212) 979-5700 ext. 101.Private Equity Recruitment in the Interiors Sector

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