When your employees are worried about health and financial issues, it has serious consequences for your business. If your employees can’t focus and suffer from stress and related problems, the result is a disengaged workforce and lost productivity.

An effective employee benefits plan plays a critical role in keeping your team engaged and focused on achieving work goals, and helps them see their work life as beneficial to their personal needs, instead of a detriment.

If your company is seeing a rise in sick days and requests for more time off, it’s time to rethink your employee benefits plan.

If you’re not communicating well with employees about your 401(k) plan and providing the advice and guidance they need, they’ll end up seeking advice from other employees — who may not know what they are doing. Each person’s financial situation is different, so what’s right for one employee could be disastrous for another.

A construction company provides a sobering example of what could happen if you don’t make employee communication a key element of your company’s retirement plan.