Unhappy Workers Cost the U.S. Up to $550 Billion a Year (Infographic) Investing money in improving company culture is often seen as frivolous. But it shouldn't be.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Your employees' happiness can make or break your business.

Disgruntled, disengaged, unsatisfied workers are less productive, less creative and more likely to leave. And that's expensive for you.

We aren't talking a few extra dollars here. Unhappy workers cost the U.S. between $450 and $550 billion in lost productivity each year, according to a 2013 report on the state of the U.S. workplace conducted by research and polling company Gallup.

Related: The Happiest People Know Their 'Flow State.' What's Yours?

While keeping employees happy requires some attentiveness on the part of managers, it's not rocket science. Workers want to be recognized when they do good work, have their personal life respected and have friends at work.

For more insight into why it's so critical that business owners and managers take care to attend to the emotional well-being of their employees, have a look at the infographic below from Good.co, a San-Francisco-based workplace personality assessment company.

Click to Enlarge

Unhappy Workers Cost the U.S. Up to $550 Billion a Year (Infographic)

Related: What Does It Feel Like to Find Your Purpose?
Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

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