U.S. employers have a trust problem.

Only about half of U.S. workers feel their employers are open and upfront with them, according to a survey about work and well-being set to be released this week by the American Psychological Association. And one-quarter of Americans say they simply don't trust the companies they work for.

That's bad for business, said David Ballard, who heads the APA's workplace initiative. When a sense of trust is missing, workers may put in less effort or otherwise subverting their employers' goals, he said.

"Employees want to know that there are fair processes in place and a sense of equity" in the exchange between their efforts and the compensation (monetary and otherwise) they receive in return, said Ballard.

One reason for the distrust and cynicism: with the recession receding in the rearview mirror, workers are angry that they're not sharing in the gains of the recovery, he said. For example, inflation-adjusted wages have barely budged since the economy began expanding again in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.