Firms whose employees feel unhappy could face business insurance claims if staff air grievances or decide to take legal action.
According to a survey commissioned by training provider Lifetime, almost half of the UK workforce feel unhappy in their jobs at the moment.
Indeed, around 48 per cent of those questioned said they regularly feel unhappy during the working week. One in five said they feel this way every day.
Just six per cent of employees claimed to be totally content with their job.
Commenting on the findings, Nigel Wallace, director of training at Lifetime, said: "With happiness being closely linked to employee performance, it is worrying that such a large percentage of the population is so unhappy at work."
He added: ''We spend the majority of our adult lives in the workplace so it is crucial for our state of mind, health and wellbeing that we associate positive emotion with our job and career."
