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CBS News 60 Minutes interviewed U.S. President Elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama on November 16, 2008.  Steve Kroft conducted the extensive interview which was taped on Friday in Chicago.  Of great interest is what Obama and his administration plan to do to address the worsening economic crisis and this was discussed at length. Obama affirmed commitment to helping homeowners …

 One area that I’m concerned about, and I’ve said this publicly, is we have not focused on foreclosures and what’s happening to homeowners as much as I would like. We have the tools to do it. We’ve gotta set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. [...]

..And the auto industry, but not with a “blank check.”

So my hope is that over the course of the next week, between the White House and Congress, the discussions are shaped around providing assistance but making sure that that assistance is conditioned on labor, management, suppliers, lenders, all the stakeholders coming together with a plan what does a sustainable U.S. auto industry look like? So that we are creating a bridge loan to somewhere as opposed to a bridge loan to nowhere.

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The interview had a personal side as well, as both Obama and his wife talked about the transition to the White House.  Being leader of the free world is, after all, the ultimate work from home job.

(CBS) Kroft: I know that from talking to you, you’ve said that this has put a lot of, you know, your husband’s involvement in politics has put strains in your marriage from time to time. He’s about to take over the most pressure packed job in the world. But he’s also gonna be home, right?

Michelle Obama: Oh yeah. He’s got a big office at home now.

You know, this entire year and a half has brought us closer together as a family. And we managed to stay close and become even closer with Barack gone most of an entire two year period. And now we get to be together under the one roof, having dinners together. And, you know, I envision the kids coming home from school and being able to run across the way to the Oval Office and see their dad before they start their homework. And having breakfast. And he’ll be there to tuck them in at night. And, you know, again, you know, there’ll be moments of deep seriousness and times of great focus. But, you know, we’ll be together doing that. And that gives me reason to be very excited.

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And no interview would be complete without an update on the Obamas’ search for a dog for their daughters.

See also the full transcript:

• Obama On Economic Crisis, Transition
• The Obamas On Their Personal Transition
• Obamas On Picking The Presidential Pooch

Monster Worldwide, Inc. has just released a study on work/life balance:

MAYNARD, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Despite a growing awareness of the importance of a healthy work/life balance, workers and employers are often at odds when it comes to the issue, according to survey results released today by Monster®, the leading global online careers and recruitment resource and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST). Among the findings of the 2007 Monster Work/Life Balance Survey, 89 percent of employees polled believe work/life balance programs, such as flextime and telecommuting, are important when evaluating a new job, yet only about half of HR professionals polled consider work/life balance to be an important initiative for their companies.

The survey findings revealed that only 29 percent of workers view their employer’s work/life balance initiatives as good or excellent; in fact, 58 percent say their employer encourages working too much. Furthermore, the long-term outlook does not look promising – 61 percent of HR pros believe there will be more employer-provided work/life balance initiatives in five years, and only 56 percent believe that general work/life balance will improve in the future.

“Developing and promoting a work/life balance program can be a key differentiator in today’s challenging recruitment market where there are ample opportunities for job seekers. Thus, employers should look to improve their employment brand by creating and promoting a flexible, balanced work atmosphere as an effective means of improving recruitment and retention,” said Jesse Harriott, vice president of research, Monster. “Moreover, we found that a healthy work/life balance is more valued by younger workers – Gen X and Gen Y – so, employers looking to cultivate those talent pools would be well-advised to promote related initiatives.”

The press release continues.

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Who would have thought the telecommuting trend would have such repercussions:

IT’S A TOUGH TIME TO be a laundry detergent. Environmentalists are encouraging people to wear clothes longer before tossing them in the hamper and offering easy recipes for homemade detergents. The government wants consumers to lower their energy bills by using their washing machines less often. And now, a brand new report from Packaged Facts says that the growing trend of telecommuting, with so many people toiling in their unwashed jammies, may be about to throw yet another wrench into the spin cycle.

Still, even with that kind of pressure, Packaged Facts is predicting that sales of laundry-care products will register small gains in the years ahead, and reach $9.7 billion by 2011.

[...]

And just as casual Friday cut into laundry in the early 1990s, telecommuting–which PF says is now a reality at 44% of all companies, and includes 24 million Americans–further reduces the need for fresh duds every day. “If the telecommuting trend continues to flourish, people will be washing fewer items, and the laundry care industry could be in for a surprise,” the report notes. “Laundry care marketers may want to think about stressing the benefits of personal care as more people enter a day-to-day situation where the pressures to make oneself presentable have been eliminated and all that remains is a heap of old T-shirts with a laptop on top.”

 

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From the UK, news arrives of a report that lends inspiration and encouragement to everyone who is an entrepreneur, seeks to become one or otherwise wishes to dispense with the 9-to-5 workaday routine:

A report released today by Enterprise Nation, the home business website, has found that the under-25 age group is now one of the largest growing sectors of society to take the plunge and start up successful home-based businesses.

The study has provided an in-depth analysis of how the nation has moved away from the traditional office environment to embrace a more relaxed and flexible system of work that now sees almost a third of the entire British workforce operate from a home with a combined annual turnover of £364 billion.

Along with the tenacious teens, recent statistics show that the other demographic sectors that have recently seen a boost in numbers include women and the over 50s with business and professional services making up the vast majority of new companies set to be a success.

There are now more than 2.1 million home based businesses in the UK which compares to a total of 4.5 million small and medium sized enterprises at the start of 2006, an increase of 2.9 per cent on the start of 2005. Accountants, website developers, online trading, personal services (such as home interior designers, hairdressers, party planners), food (products and caterers), and domestic energy (including people selling excess DIY ‘green’ power back into the national grid) are amongst the most popular start-up businesses that make it past the all important first year of trading.

What’s more, it seems that young people are being inspired by their peers to go it alone rather than get a regular job. A recent Generation Enterprise report commissioned by City and Guilds revealed that half of those questioned aged between 16 and 25 knew someone under the age of 30 who had started their own business.

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DailyPress.com makes note of the immense appeal:

Broadband. Telecommuting. Taming our roaring highways instead of multiplying them. Walking or cycling to work. Less tension, better health. “Work to live, not live to work.”

Could all those values come together?

Put your ear to the ground, and you can hear other voices, especially in new technologies, suggesting a less frenetic lifestyle in a nation clearly confounded by congestion, obesity, energy consumption, global warming and air quality issues.

Biggest on the technology side: broadband Internet connection. Broadband is usually sold for its economic promise; backers now claim that a robust, border-to-border U.S. broadband network would generate up to 1.2 million new jobs.

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Daylight Savings Time? No, don’t turn those clocks back today, wait till next weekend. PC Mag offers helpful tips to enable your computer to cope….

If Congress hadn’t passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 then you’d be moving your clocks back this weekend. But that law changed the dates on which Daylight Savings Time is started and ended, increasing its duration. This year it will be in Sunday, November 4. If you haven’t made the proper changes to your system, possibly including application software, your system may “fall back” this weekend and screw things up.

Keep reading for the tips.

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More than a symbolic gesture, a ‘National Telework Week’ could raise awareness on numerous benefits that teleworking offers:

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican, has promoted the idea by sending a letter requesting the creation of a “National Telework Week” to President Bush and introducing a resolution to promote the idea. Wolf said he wants to encourage more employers to consider the option.

“The best part of telework is that it improves the quality of life for all,” Wolf said in his written statement Tuesday. “Nearly 20 million Americans telework today, and according to experts, at least 40% of American jobs are compatible with telework. Telework reduces traffic congestion and air pollution. It reduces gas consumption and our dependency on foreign oil.”

Wolf said telework provides parents with flexibility to meet personal and professional demands, increases opportunities for people with disabilities, and helps fill the nation’s labor market shortage. He also said that companies reap benefits, including cost savings, lower absentee rates, increased retention, higher productivity, and improved morale.

[...]

Wolf said “work is something you do, not someplace you go.”

“Hopefully we can make telework as commonplace as the morning traffic report,” he added. “There is nothing magical about strapping ourselves into a car and driving sometimes up to an hour and a half, arriving at a workplace and sitting before a computer. We can access the same information from a computer in our living rooms.”

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The non-telecommuting workaday life has its pitfalls, among them, inflexible work schedules. Indeed there are legitimate reasons to need time off, for child care or a personal or family emergency. Not surprisingly, a company is addressing those needs:

Feeling like playing hooky, but nervous about getting caught? The Excused Absence Network has got your back.

For about $25, students and employees can buy excuse notes that appear to come from doctors or hospitals. Other options include a fake jury summons or an authentic-looking funeral service program complete with comforting poems and a list of pallbearers.

Some question whether the products are legal or ethical — or even work — but the company’s owners say they’re just helping people do something they would have done anyway.

“Millions of Americans work dead-end jobs, and sometimes they just need a day off,” said John Liddell, co-founder of the Internet-based company Vision Matters, which sells the notes as part of its Excused Absence Network. “People are going to lie anyway. How many people go visit their doctors every day when they’re not sick because they just need a note?”

The company’s customers receive templates so they can print the notes after typing the name and address of a local doctor or emergency room. Those who choose jury duty as an excuse to miss work enter their county courthouse information on the form.

Though the company’s disclaimer advises the notes are “for entertainment purposes only,” its Web site shows pictures of people sunbathing and playing golf using the fabricated excuses. One testimonial says: “I’ve managed to take the nine weeks off using these templates! It couldn’t be any easier!”

Of course, there can be pitfalls, as the article goes on to address.

If bosses find out the notes are not authentic, they might think the medical provider helped in the scam, said Dr. John Z. Sadler, a psychiatry and clinical sciences professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Reputations could be unfairly damaged, and accreditation or license problems could arise, he said.

“I can’t speak for doctors in general, but for me this practice sounds awful,” said Sadler, also the director of UT-Southwestern’s Program in Ethics in Science and Medicine. “This business practice seems comparable to the ways ‘diploma mills’ and ‘term papers online’ are wrongful.”

Darl Waterhouse, and John Liddell owners Excused Absence Network, a home based business that makes excuse notes in Thackerville, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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The NTI, National Telecommuting Institute, in their own words, “is a unique educational/job-matching organization pioneering the development of telework jobs for Americans with disabilities.” A recent Boston Globe article profiles wheelchair bound Christopher Watts who works from home, thanks to the intervention of the NTI. It is an inspiring success story:

Watts went on to complete his degree at Bentley, changing from finance to marketing because he could no longer use a calculator for his required classes. As it turned out, marketing was perfect for him. Through the National Telecommuting Institute, which helps find home-based, computer-oriented jobs for the disabled, Watts is now working for Sprint, monitoring customer service calls for quality control.

And he and his mother, Cindy, have a computer business they run together, setting up websites. They work out of the Marshfield home they share. “Starting the company allows me to be home with Chris and still work,” she says. “To do a 9-to-5 job would be impossible.”

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Yes, it’s what we already knew: workers need more flexibility:

A new survey suggests that U.S. workers may need more flexible work arrangements, as they are using their sick time to handle family emergencies or personal issues.

While 34 percent of people who call in sick to work at the last minute do so because of illness, 66 percent are taking time for other reasons, according to the 2007 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey.

“Most people today are juggling the demands of busy personal and professional lives, and are trying to do their very best in both places,” said Pamela Wolf, JD, an employment law analyst with Riverwoods, Ill.-based CCH, which provides businesses with human resources and employment law information. “Organizations need to stop the tug of war with people for their time, and become a partner to employees to help them, and the business overall, be more successful.”