Want to make your employees happy? Don’t mail them pay stubs.

That’s one of the main takeaways from the American Payroll Association’s 2012 “Getting Paid in America” survey, released earlier this week.

The study also shows evidence that physical paychecks are a thing of the past, but also shows that consumers struggle to save money.

The key findings:

• Most people live paycheck to paycheck. Over two-thirds — or 68 percent — of respondents to the survey live paycheck to paycheck. That’s actually a drop from 2010, when 72 percent of people said they lived paycheck to paycheck, but nonetheless shows the dangers workers face in cases of emergencies. “This study clearly shows that Americans are finding it hard to save,” the association’s Dan Maddux told Reuters.
• Electronic payments are nearly universal, with 97 percent of respondents saying that they receive their pay through direct deposit, reloadable debit cards, or pay cards. That’s compared to just three percent of employees who receive their pay via a physical check or other methods.
• Electronic pay stubs are growing in popularity. Around 76 percent of respondents say they receive — or would like to receive — their pay stubs electronically, and another 15 percent are open to receiving their pay stubs this way. Just 9 percent prefer paper stubs.

The online survey of 30,600 people, which took place between May to September, has a margin of error of 1 percent.