Americans hate their jobs

If you hate your job, you're not alone. But having in-office access to catered meals, a pingpong table or free massages may not make you any happier at work.

Just 30% of employees are engaged and inspired at work, according to Gallup's 2013 State of the American Workplace Report, which surveyed more than 150,000 full- and part-time workers during 2012. That's up from 28% in 2010. The rest … not so much. A little more than half of workers (52%) have a perpetual case of the Mondays — they're present, but not particularly excited about their job.

The remaining 18% are actively disengaged or, as Gallup CEO Jim Clifton put it in the report, "roam the halls spreading discontent." Worse, Gallup reports, those actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. up to $550 billion annually in lost productivity.

No wonder companies have been looking for ways to make workers happier. One trend that has taken off is cushy office perks, said management consultant Bob Nelson, author of 1,501 Ways to Reward Employees. For example, Google — which has topped the Fortune and the Great Place to Work Institute's annual list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in four of the past seven years — boasts a roller hockey rink and nap pods, among other amenities, at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. Read more >>