Missing Persons When employees call in sick, it's your business that suffers.

I'm not feeling so good," your employee croaks over thephone, just a little too hoarsely. Most employers discount sickcalls, whether real or fake, as just one of those things. However,recent statistics show unscheduled absences have lingering effects,especially on small businesses.

A rise in employee absenteeism is coming on like a bad flu, andsmall businesses are feeling the symptoms. Companies with fewerthan 100 employees suffered from an 18 percent increase inabsenteeism this year over last year, according to a survey by CCHInc., a business materials publisher. This increase was far moresubstantial than the average 3.5 percent increase experienced bybusinesses in general.

Unfortunately, though small businesses may be the most affectedby absenteeism, they're also usually least likely to dosomething about it. "Most companies are beginning tounderstand that unscheduled absences and sick leaves pose asignificant cost," says Paul Gibson, an attorney with CCH."However, a lot of smaller companies can't focus full timeon implementing programs to get the situation undercontrol."