Cities with the worst work environments

By Alexander E.M. Hess and Thomas C. Frohlich, 24/7 Wall St.

Americans spend much of their day at work, and more than half of Americans rated their overall work environment poorly last year.

To determine the best and worst work environments for the recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Gallup surveyed hundreds of thousands of Americans in 189 metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2012 and 2013. The Work Environment Index included four metrics: job satisfaction; whether employees felt they used their strengths at work; how employees were treated by their supervisors; and whether supervisors created an open and trusting work environment.

Some of the findings might surprise you. Residents of wealthier areas often assessed their workplaces poorly. Median household income in the area of Poughkeepsie, New York, was $66,612, but residents rated their workplaces among the worst.

And while the health of the job market can affect workplaces -- the recession and layoffs have certainly created stressful work environments -- a low unemployment rate is no guarantee of a happy workforce, either. One of the worst-rated areas, Charlotte, North Carolina, had an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, much better than the national rate.

Click on the photo above to see the cities with the worst work environments. And to see the cities with the best work environments, along with details on methodology, visit 247WallSt.com: