No good can come from this
I gave you a +1. Not because I want to encourage bitching in discussions, but because this is a real-life response to knowing other people's salaries. It's human nature to compare ourselves to others. And we always think we are better than others.
"I deserve more because I work longer hours"
"I deserve more because I get more done"
"I deserve more because I've got more qualifications"
"I deserve more because I've been with the company longer"
"I deserve more because I have more responsibility"
All of these (and more) are genuine reasons why we might deserve more than the next person. And human nature is to weigh the things that are true for ourselves more heavily than the other things (ie. "Sure he works more hours but he's the new guy, so I should get paid more than him").
I think we all have our own mental picture of what we *think* everyone else earns. What's the harm in letting employees keep this model instead of being pissed off to find out that Jane from marketing earns more than me?
To put it in a shorter way: We all think we are more valueable than the average employee, but on average we're not. Therefore by disclosing salaries most people will be upset.
