Employees’ financial circumstances may be affecting absenteeism. Almost two-fifths of human resources professionals say employees have missed work in the past 12 months because of a financial emergency, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

“The results could signal that financial issues are a growing challenge for employees in many workplaces,” said Evren Esen, director of SHRM’s survey programs. “Anxiety related to finances could be an increasing source of employee stress that has a direct impact on healthcare costs, absence and productivity. As a result, money management strategies — including budgeting and investing — may increasingly be considered as a part of workplace stress management and wellness initiatives.”

Overall, 61 percent of respondents describe the financial situation of their employees as no better than fair. Seventy percent of human resources professionals described their employees as being somewhat financially literate and 17 percent said their employees were not at all financially literate.

The survey included 419 randomly selected human resources professionals.