When You Call in Sick...

It could affect your employer's bottom line. Last year, more than 2.3 million workers nation-wide called in sick. A 2005 Human Resources study found it costs some industries over $700 thousand a year, or $600 per employee. Employers say costs in staff shortages, lost labor, and payroll can add up, and area workers have heard some interesting reasons for calling in sick.

"I didn't set my clock right," said Bay County engineer Richard Scott, "or hit the snooze button too many times."

"I've heard people use the death of their same grandmother about 5 times before," said massage therapist Jamie Rawlins.

"Some couldn't get the garage door open to drive their vehicle out," said retiree Sherry Mapley, who ran a business for several years. On many occasions he said employees used weather as an excuse. "There was too much snow," said Mapley, "but I had a 4-wheel drive suburban and I used to go out and drive those folks to work."

But no matter what the excuse, employers say it's an obstacle they deal with every day.

"It's a daily challenge dealing with these issues," said Boatyard Restaurant Executive Chef Konrad Jocham. He says it's not just about money lost.

""It does set you back operationally," said Jocham, "Your operation doesn't run as smooth, It's the quality of service and experience you give your guests, it suffers."

Waitress Ashley Hayes says it adds more to her job when co-workers call out for the day.

"That's more on us, if their section's not covered we have to cover their section so it's a strain," she said. But it's not all negative. "When you're struggling a lot of them understand and you get better tips actually," said Hayes.

Jocham says when employees tell him things like, "my eye's bleeding, couldn't find my keys, can't find my dog." it makes him wonder.

A recent survey conducted by Careerbuilder.com found 32 percent of employees used a fake excuse to call in sick in 2006. One in 10 admitted to doing it more than 3 times.

When a Teacher Calls in Sick...

It can mean more tax dollars and a diminished quality of education. Unlike most other jobs, principals and teachers say when they call in sick, they're an exception to the rule.

"It's a profession that's not just like they're working in a retail store and they need somebody to cover a cash register," said Mosley High School Principal Bill Husfelt.

Even with 130 teachers employed at Mosley, having one of them miss a day impacts many.

"We've got to think of 30 students every class period," said Mosley math teacher Linda Leake, "or an elementary teacher might have 25 all day with 15 different lessons to teach."

Husfelt says when dealing with teachers taking time off, preparation is the key. Teachers are required to have an emergency lesson plan prepared in advance, but even with 600 substitutes in the district, sometimes they still have to stretch.

"The big time problem comes in when we have flu, cold season," said Husfelt, "and then there's either not enough subs or people get sick in the middle of the night and so sometimes we're scrambling"

Husfelt says having a teacher out can get costly.

"We all save money when the teachers are here every day," he said, "It could range up to several hundred dollars a day when a sub is needed in the classroom."

Bay district substitute teachers get paid an average of $55 dollars a day when a teacher calls in. An average Bay District teacher gets paid close to $200 a day. With an average of 45 teachers are absent in the district each day, it can cost over $11,000.

But Husfelt says money isn't the only thing at stake.

"When a teacher's not in a classroom no matter how much we know the sub knows," he said "the instruction drops a little bit."

Husfelt has filled in himself for teachers several times while waiting for a substitute to arrive, and teachers say they're no stranger to covering for co-workers.

"If we give up our planning period to cover for someone we're not going to get paid for that," said Leake "but we know that we might have that happen to us."

She says that is why most of the time teachers plan their missed days in advance, and try hard not to call in sick.

When You go to Work Sick...

Health officials say presenteeism is a growing workplace problem; people going to work despite the fact that they are actually sick. It happens in the school districts with teachers like Leake.

"We all definitely come with colds and stopped up noses and things like that just like any employee does," she said "You don't want to be absent unless you have to be."

She says it's a matter of catching up.

"It takes so much preparation so much more preparation to make sure everything's going to go smooth when you're absent," said Leake, "and then so much to catch up on when you get back."

But the issue goes beyond the schools. Area employees say they go to work sick because too many people depend on them.

"I had a lot of people working for me and they all depended on me being there," said Mapley.

"I have to be pretty desperate," said Sallie Mae employee Tammy Roper.

Others say they do it for the money.

"I own my own business you have to," said Panama City resident Steve Crow.

"I gotta pay the bills," said Rawlins.

No matter what the reason, health officials say while the costs of coming in sick aren't as easy to see as the money lost when employees miss a day, there are still consequences for productivity, and the risk of infecting others.