We all know employees talk, and things can never remain totally secret. But a direct discussion about salary details probably isn’t the best idea.

There are organizations that openly share salary information around the office. However, unless all similar jobs pay the same rate, people advise that open salary concepts do not work well.

When companies have different employees on the same job and one of them is paid differently, many unfairness issues surface. It can happen in any company that differentiates (区分) pay for any reason like seniority and performance. You should run the risk of causing a distance between you and your colleagues if they learn you earn more for what they think to be the same job.

The secret nature of your salary, in fact, can be a greater benefit to you. It creates an opportunity for a manager to have a personal discussion with employees as to why they are being paid what they are and how they can then move forward with confidence that they have developed a “special” relationship with their supervisor (主管) on their individual issues, good and bad, without involving others in the process.

If you learn that someone who holds a similar position earns a bigger paycheck, don’t panic. First, do some due diligence to determine if you are being underpaid in general. Use the Internet salary calculator, and also reach out to your out-of-office network to find out how people at other companies are being compensated. Next, you’d better go to your boss and ask the reasons. Open a rational dialog to understand what skills or experience you’ll need to improve your performance and earn more recognition and financial rewards.

Keeping the spirits up

NASA has a new job listing, and it’s no joke. The US space agency (机构) is looking for a “joker” to join their planned mission (任务) to Mars.

A mission to Mars is no laughing matter. On average, the red planet is 140 million miles (225 million kilometers) away from Earth. A trip there would take around eight months in a small spacecraft. And Mars has a communications delay (延迟) of 20 minutes. This means that astronauts will have to wait 20 minutes for a reply, when an emergency happens.

“When you’re living with others in a confined space for a long period of time, such as on a mission to Mars, problems are likely to occur,” Jeffrey Johnson, a scientist at the University of Florida, told The Guardian.

This is probably why NASA wants an astronaut with a sense of humor. “These are people that have the ability to pull everyone together,” Johnson said.

In stressful situations, perhaps humor is a way to know we aren’t alone. By laughing together, we share our stress. Then we can focus on our jobs instead of just worrying.

There are other examples of team “clowns”. One example is the journey to the South Pole (南极) led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. It was a difficult journey, full of danger. Adolf Lindstrom, a cook at Amundsen’s team, was a “clown”. He made people laugh through the whole journey. Amundsen later wrote that Lindstrom was the most valuable member of the team.

But if you’re hoping that your favorite TV comedian (喜剧演员) will fly to Mars, that probably won’t happen.

“Being funny won’t be enough to land somebody the job,” Johnson said. “They also need to be an excellent scientist and engineer.” Besides, they must be in top physical condition.

“We work four-day weeks because it makes our staff more motivated,” says Joe Munns, CEO and founder of Bakedin, which makes home baking kits and cake mixes.

Joe has put his 40 workers on a four-day week since he started the firm in 2013, when he was working for the computer giant IBM. 【小题1】 When he was at IBM, he actually reduced his hours down to a four-day week and had Fridays free, when he could work on Bakedin, which became his second job and he was devoted to.

【小题2】 It means that he could do what he liked and took that opportunity to start the business with a four-day week. So they have the normal working week of Monday to Thursday—then everyone gets those three days off.

Because there is still some business to do on Fridays, such as dealing with customer enquiries, some of Bakedin's office workers volunteer to work on Fridays.【小题3】

Bakedin staff put in nine-and-a-half-hours on the four days they are at work.【小题4】“When we are together, we just find that we’re more productive. We get more done this way, because we don’t get that tired, Friday feeling.”

Many firms and countries. have started experimenting with four-day, rather than five-day weeks.【小题5】 Bakedin is in the food industry, which has a very high turn-over rate for staff. “Every year, some 30% of employees in the food industry leave their jobs,” says Joe. “But at Bakedin, our staff turnover rate is under 5%. So a four-day week is an excellent way of keeping staff loyal.”