The New York Times recently asked readers to share how much money they made, and whether they thought they were compensated fairly. Over 1,100 responded, and many shared a common observation: they didn't know whether they were paid fairly because they didn't know how much money their colleagues earned.

One exception was a product manager at a software company called Truss, where all employees know what all of their colleagues make. "It’s not healthy emotionally or mentally to work in an environment where you’re always wondering whether you’re being valued," Hannah Baptiste told the Times, adding, "When there’s transparency, you’re not wondering."

The grocery chain Whole Foods, now owned by Amazon, is among the companies that practice salary transparency, having established the practice in 1986, just six years after its founding. Buffer, a social media startup, takes this to another level, publishing the salaries