Employers may want to pay attention to a new CareerBuilder survey that reveals that one in five workers are having trouble making ends meet. After all, financial worries don’t just take a toll on workers’ stress levels: Studies have shown that money-related distress can negatively affect employees’ quality of work - and, ultimately, the company’s bottom line.

According to the survey of more than 4,400 workers nationwide, 77 percent of workers live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet, up from 61 percent who said the same last year.  And as many as 22 percent said they’ve missed bill payment in the last year.

You might not be able to manually solve your employees’ financial problems, but you can help them better manage – and feel more in control of –  their finances. As a result, they will be less distracted on the job and more focused on their work:

Ask for feedback.  Instead of guessing what your employees want, go straight to the source to find out how you can be of assistance to your employees. From there, you can negotiate which cost-effective benefits you can provide – such as flexible schedules (to cut down on child-care costs or gas) – to best address their needs.

Focus on what you can offer them.  Maybe providing a bigger paycheck isn’t an option, but again, you’d be surprised by what you can offer your employees that doesn’t scream “cha-ching!” – such as setting up an employee assistance program, where they can go to for financial (or general) advice; inviting financial planning professionals to come speak and answer questions; or providing free educational resources such as classes and webinars or newsletters that contain information and advice on financial planning and fiscal responsibility.

Help them maximize their benefits. Many employees don’t take advantage of their employers’ benefits simply because they are unaware of them or aren’t sure how to make use of them. Step up your communication efforts to make sure your employees know of all the benefits available to them. Set up meetings with various teams or departments and HR to discuss these benefits and answer any questions they may have.

Finally, check out what other companies are doing: When we released this survey last year, we asked readers to weigh in and tell us how their company was helping employees weather the rough spots of the uncertain economy, and here were some of their answers:

• Offer flexible/alternative work schedules and telecommuting
• Encourage employees to sign up for 401(k) accounts
• Offer educational literature or presentations specific to specific to investing/retirement planning
• Catered breakfast or lunch (like free pizza on Fridays)
• Provide advances on wages or 401(k) savings
• Offer flexible spending accounts for commuters

And should all else fail…two words: Power naps.