What you are saying generally rings true for an opaque-salary workplace (which is all I've ever worked at). In the end, though, the dissatisfaction is an edge-

What you are saying generally rings true for an opaque-salary workplace (which is all I've ever worked at). In the end, though, the dissatisfaction is an edge-triggered phenomenon, not a level-triggered phenomenon. The introduction of an open-salary model to an opaque-salary environment seems tough for everyone, especially if there is a large disconnect between people's perception of their peer's performance vs. their actual salary. But in an open-salary environment, especially one with a feedback loop, it seems like it would be difficult to get into that state in the first place.