A new survey of economic stress and financial wellness in the American workplace reveals that significantly more employees are living paycheck-to-paycheck, and that financial stress is a substantial and growing contributor to absenteeism and decreased productivity.

The survey, commissioned by FinFit, LLC, a provider of financial wellness solutions, asked business owners and professionals for their views on the financial challenges faced by employees at their companies and the impact with regard to on-the-job performance. It revealed that employers could be doing more to help ease financial pressures on employees. Highlights of the results include:

• 71 percent of survey respondents said that due to a difficult economy, significantly more employees at their companies are living paycheck-to-paycheck.

• 86 percent of respondents said financial stress among employees led to absenteeism, decreased productivity, and increased distraction in the past year.

• 78 percent of respondents said their companies do not currently offer any type of lending program to assist staff when they encounter emergencies. Nearly half believe a program offering financial education and support in the workplace would enable employees to be more productive.

"Even if you're making a decent salary, it is difficult to concentrate on work when you're worrying about how to pay this month's bills, or to find the money to cover a health emergency, a necessary car repair so you can travel to work, or an educational expense for a child," said David Kilby, president of FinFit. "We are seeing more employers recognizing that this is a real issue and as a result, starting to think about possible solutions."

Other key findings include:

• 79 percent of respondents cited emergency healthcare costs as the top reason behind why companies should provide loans to employees.

• 69 percent believe employees at their companies would want to participate in a program that would help them pay for healthcare coverage premiums, deductibles, and co-payments, if it were offered.

The online survey, conducted from April 29 to May 2, 2014, gathered responses from 250 business owners and executives at companies with 200-500 employees across the U.S. 63 percent of the respondents hold college or graduate degrees and 75 percent are 45 years of age or older.