One in two Singaporeans are unhappy at work

This marks a record low in eight years.

Singapore's high productivity is backed by a lot of sad workers. JobsCentral Work Happiness Survey Report showed that at least one in two employees is unhappy at work.

The country's score of 46.8% marks the lowest in eight years.

The survey found that workers in translation and editorial scored the highest with 75.8. This was followed by employees in Public Relations, Marketing, Research and Development, and Legal.

Those who were unhappiest are from Compliance, Administrative, Management, and Merchandising.

Amongst industries, Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation employees are the happiest with a score of 57.0.

They were followed by those in Water Supply, Sewerage, and Waste Management with a score of 56.2.

Financial employees were "marginally happy" with a score of 51.3. Mining and quarrying workers are the unhappiest at a score of 38.7.

The report also said entry into the workforce may be the only happiest period for most workers in the country.

Employees in the 16-20 age range scored 59.4, whilst those 41-60 years old dipped below 50 points.

The survey also found out that money is the main driver of deciding work happiness, followed by work-life balance, colleague relations, interesting work, and acceptable work demands.

Societal impact of their job is the least of employees' worries.

Consequently, 34.6% said direct monetary rewards are key to a happier workforce.

Workers are not that concerned with not sticking strictly to work hours or employee benefits.

Majority of the employees do not pick the gender of their bosses, but for those who did, males were preferred at 31.2% over females at 5.1%.

However, high wages do not seem to solve the problem.

Employees with a salary range of $9,500 to $9,999 are the happiest with a score of 57.3. Those in the higher range only scored 40.8.

CareerBuilder Singapore managing director Sam Ng said, "The survey results suggest that the majority of the respondents may perceive that they are being underpaid. This can potentially have a huge impact on the engagement level of employees, and lead to a highly unmotivated workforce if left unaddressed. Employers should gather feedback from their staff and together develop an ideal compensation package to boost overall happiness at work."