Less than a third of the nation’s workers were actively engaged in their jobs last year, according to a Gallup report released this week.

Gallup’s State of the American Workplace showed that an additional 18% were actively disengaged from their jobs. These workers, according to Gallup, were “more likely to steal from their companies, negatively influence their coworkers, miss workdays, and drive customers away.” In Rhode Island, more than one in five workers was actively disengaged. Based on Gallup’s 2012 survey data, these are the 10 states where people hate going to work.

Click here to see the 10 states 

Unemployment tends to be higher in the states with the most disengaged workers. Of the 10 states on our list, seven had higher-than-average jobless rates. This includes Rhode Island, which had the third highest unemployment rate in 2012. All 10 states with the smallest proportion of disengaged workers had below-average unemployment in 2012.

This makes sense, explained Jim Hartner, Gallup’s chief scientist. “It might just be a reflection of stable business in those areas, where they’re flourishing and they’re hiring, as opposed to laying people off.” People are more likely to enjoy working at a successful business, he added. They also are more likely to be able to get an interesting job in a state with more job opportunities.

The states where workers are least satisfied were much less likely to have good work environments. All 10 had below-average percentages of workers using their strengths at work. Workers in these states were also among the least likely to report that their supervisor created a trusting environment. Four of the five states with the lowest worker satisfaction levels also had the highest rates of actively disengaged workers.

“When people that are engaged come to work, they know what’s expected, they feel comfortable in the job that they’re in,” Hartner explained. “They feel they have a manager that helps support them and helps develop them.”

Being engaged at work is an important part of an emotionally healthy life. The least-engaged workers tended to be the least likely to report being happy overall. Of the 10 states with the most disengaged workers, eight scored below average for overall emotional health.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 states with the highest proportion of workers deemed to be “actively disengaged” based on surveys conducted last year by Gallup for its State of the American Workplace report. In addition, we reviewed emotional health and workplace satisfaction data collected by Gallup and Healthways for their annual Well-Being Index, as well as 2012 job market figures from Gallup’s State of the States report. We also considered annual average unemployment rates for 2012, collected from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These are the 10 states where people hate going to work.

10. West Virginia
> Pct. actively disengaged: 19.3%
> Pct. engaged: 31.7% (16th highest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 7.3% (25th highest)
> Work environment: 13th worst

Workers in West Virginia were among the least likely to say that they were satisfied with their job or that they used their strengths at work. No state was rated worse for emotional health. West Virginians were sadder, angrier and more stressed than Americans living anywhere else last year. Despite all this, and the fact that 19.3% of workers in West Virginia were actively disengaged, 31.7% of employees stated they were engaged in their work — above the 30.3% nationwide.

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9. Illinois
> Pct. actively disengaged: 19.5%
> Pct. engaged: 27.7% (5th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 8.9% (10th highest)
> Work environment: 23rd worst

Only 27.7% of workers in Illinois indicated engagement with their work in 2012, the fifth lowest percentage of all states. Nearly 22% of employees did not think their supervisor created a trusting environment, among the highest percentages of all states. Like most states on this list, joblessness has been more of an issue for Illinois than the country as a whole. The state’s 8.9% unemployment rate in 2012 was among the top 10 in the country. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate of 19.2% was well above the national 17.5% rate.

8. Michigan
> Pct. actively disengaged: 19.6%
> Pct. engaged: 28.7% (15th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 9.1% (8th highest)
> Work environment: 16th worst

Michigan had one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates in 2012, at 9.1%. According to Gallup, last year only 41% of the population worked full time for an employer, one of the lowest figures in the nation. Worse, nearly 20% of residents were underemployed, meaning they wanted a full-time job but had either only part-time work or none at all. This was also among the highest rates in the United States. Possibly because of the lack of desirable work, many employees were stuck in jobs they found unsatisfying. Only the residents of four states were more likely to tell Gallup they were unsatisfied with their job.

7. New York
> Pct. actively disengaged: 19.6%
> Pct. engaged: 28.6% (14th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 8.5% (13th highest)
> Work environment: 6th worst

Among all Americans polled, New York residents were the least likely to indicate they were satisfied with the job. Moreover, a smaller proportion of New York workers felt their supervisor created a trusting environment than any other state except Connecticut. New York was one of just two states actually to see an increase in unemployment between 2011 and 2012. The unemployment rate in New York was 8.5%, among the highest in the country. This could be weighing down on New Yorkers in their overall well-being, as New Yorkers were the least likely Americans to tell Gallup they had recently been happy.

6. Vermont
> Pct. actively disengaged: 19.7%
> Pct. engaged: 26.9% (2nd lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 5.0% (4th lowest)
> Work environment: 24th worst

Unlike other states where a high percentage of workers were actively disengaged in their job, Vermont had an especially low unemployment rate. Last year, just 5.0% of Vermont workers were unemployed, versus 8.1% across the United States. But while the state’s job market was especially strong, just under 27% of workers were engaged in their job — less than all but one other state. While a large proportion of workers said they were satisfied in their jobs, residents were among the least likely to claim they used their strengths at work, were treated like a partner, or worked in a trusting environment.

5. Kentucky
> Pct. actively disengaged: 19.8%
> Pct. engaged: 32.1% (15th highest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 8.2% (18th highest)
> Work environment: 20th worst

Compared to most states, a smaller proportion of Kentuckians reported satisfaction with their job or that they were treated with respect in the past day. Less than 58% of Kentuckians said they learned something new or interesting in the past day, the second lowest percentage of all states. Fortunately for Kentucky, more workers reporting feeling engaged than most states.

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4. Pennsylvania
> Pct. actively disengaged: 20.0%
> Pct. engaged: 28.6% (13th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 7.9% (21st highest)
> Work environment: 17th worst

Pennsylvania was one of just four states in which at least one in five workers claimed they were actively disengaged in their work. At 7.9% unemployment rate last year, the state was one of just two on this list — along with Vermont — that had an unemployment rate below the national number. Despite its relatively good employment picture, residents still had negative assessments of their work environment. Residents were less likely than most Americans to report having used their strengths at work or were treated like a partner.

3. New Jersey
> Pct. actively disengaged: 20.0%
> Pct. engaged: 28.3% (9th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 9.5% (5th highest)
> Work environment: 2nd worst

Just 28.3% of New Jersey workers were engaged with their work, the ninth lowest percentage of all states. A lower percentage of workers indicated that they were satisfied with their job than any other state except for New York. In addition, the proportion of New Jersey workers who said they were able to use their strengths at work was lower than all but two other states. The unemployment rate in 2012 was 9.5%, the fifth highest in the country and up from 9.4% in 2011.

2. Connecticut
> Pct. actively disengaged: 20.2%
> Pct. engaged: 28.5% (11th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 8.4% (15th highest)
> Work environment: 22nd worst

Connecticut’s gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% in 2012, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, making it the only state where output did not rise last year. Although the state’s 8.4% unemployment rate was only slightly worse than the 8.1% national rate, by some measures Connecticut’s job market was one of the nation’s worst. The state received one of the lowest scores from Gallup for job creation in 2012. Just 29.9% of workers claimed their employers were hiring, among the lowest figures in the nation last year, while 19.2% claimed their employers were letting people go, among the highest in the nation.

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1. Rhode Island
> Pct. actively disengaged: 21.0%
> Pct. engaged: 27.7% (6th lowest)
> 2012 Unemployment rate: 10.4% (3rd highest)
> Work environment: The worst

No state had a higher percentage of workers that were actively disengaged than Rhode Island. Meanwhile, only 27.7% of workers were engaged, among the lowest in the country. The proportion of Rhode Island workers who indicated satisfaction with their job was lower than all but three other states. Rhode Island was the only state where less than 80% of workers indicated that they used their strengths at work. The unemployment rate in Rhode Island was 10.4% in 2012, higher than all but two other states.

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