Faced with a choice between the financial hardship of unemployment or a relocating for a job, more couples are going for a third option and choosing long-term separations. The issue is more common during this recession than in past downturns because of the prevalence of two-career couples. In 2008, 51.4% of married households had both spouses working, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

"Someone finding employment in another city creates a bigger challenge for families than it did a generation ago," says Joseph Foudy, a professor of economics and management at New York University's Stern School of Business. "You can't assume that a spouse that follows another will find employment in this market."

Using the Giraffe, a distant team member can interact and socialize with peers at their company's headquarters without ever stepping on a plane. An engineer can see and speak with anyone on the factory floor, even from a different country. These capabilities decrease travel expenses while fostering collaboration.

The Giraffe is a mobile robot that can be moved around its location by remote control using the Internet. The Giraffe allows a user to hear, see, and speak at a far away location, just like traditional video conferencing. This fusion of robotics and video conferencing allows a user to feel like they are at the robot's location. Because people near the robot can see and hear the user, they interact with him as if he were truly present. In a sense, the robot acts as a stand-in for the user.

Do you manage teams at multiple geographic locations? Now you can "manage-by-walking-around" even if you're not there. Keep teams focused on their goals and build camaraderie using impromptu water-cooler talks and casual chats, just like if you were there. If you manage a factory floor or lab space, you can inspect progress from afar without relying on periodic status meetings.

You may be surprised to learn that most executives say those who work from home for an employer are less likely to get promoted than their desk-tethered counterparts.

But Julie Kampf isn't. Kampf, the president of Englewood-based executive search firm JBK Associates Inc., knows first-hand how tough on a career telecommuting can be. She tried it and suffered, and she has seen qualified job candidates get overlooked because they dared to inquire about working from home – even for one day a week.

"For me, working at home was detrimental,'' says Kampf, who declined to name the employer. She says that when she worked from home in 1993, she put in about 15 hours each workday, and still couldn't please the boss. "Even though I was extremely productive, I was pretty much told 'I need to see your face here' by my boss at the time,'' she said. "It was miserable.''

The study's results fly in the face though of a growing movement. Since 1990, the number of teleworkers has grown to more than 45 million from about 4 million says the Telework Coalition. Even President Bush and other top administrators have championed telework as a vital part of business-continuity plans. Gas prices, traffic congestion and housing costs are also factors driving telecommuting.

Increasingly, workers are simply not taking paid days off from work, even when weeks are made available to them. More than one-third (37 percent) of respondents said they anticipate not using all of their time off this year.

Fourteen percent of respondents polled said they hadn't taken a vacation this year longer than a long weekend, while 24 percent of workers reported that they had not taken a single vacation day this year.

The news doesn't improve among those who are actually using their vacation benefits. Thirty-nine percent of professionals polled said they check in with their offices most days, if not every day, while on vacation. In total, 72 percent of respondents said they maintain at least some connection with their employment headquarters while away, via e-mail and phone.

It's not just the worker ants staying connected while they're supposed to be winding down—87 percent of managers in the survey reported that they keep in contact with their offices while taking time off.

Many argue that the technological advances in communication and connectivity have led to a state of over-connectedness and an inability to unwind.

The Commuting in America study by the Transportation Research Board also found that more commuters are traveling from suburb to suburb -- rather than the traditional commute from suburb to city.

"As more employers move out of cities to be closer to skilled suburban workers, the suburbs now account for the majority of job destinations," the report noted.

The board, part of the National Academies, has analyzed commuting trends since 1986, largely using census data.

According to the latest analysis, the number of new solo drivers grew by almost 13 million from 1990 to 2000. The number of workers with commutes lasting more than 60 minutes grew by almost 50 percent over that period. And, compared with the previous decade, more Americans are leaving for work between 5 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.

The nation's largest transit system ground to a halt after 3 a.m. when the 33,000-member Transport Workers Union called the strike after a late round of negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke down Monday night. The subways and buses provide more than 7 million rides per day.

New Yorkers car-pooled, shared taxis, rode bicycles, roller-skated or walked in the freezing cold. Early morning temperatures were in the 20s.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had said the strike would cost the city as much as $400 million a day, joined the throngs of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by foot.

"People need to drive safer. It's discouraging to note that last year, transportation incidents were the leading cause of on-the-job deaths – accounting for about one out of every four fatal work injuries in 2004. We urge law enforcement officials to crack down on those that break traffic laws. Speeding, ignoring work zone safety warnings, running red lights and stop signs, distracted driving, and more all contribute to the continued deaths of workers on the road. These workers include policemen and women, emergency personnel, fire fighters, utility workers, truck drivers and those in sales," noted ASSE President Jack H. Dobson Jr., CSP.

He said ASSE is also urging employers to review their driver safety policies, which could include not requiring workers to conduct business on a cell phone while driving, mandating the use of a seat belt and developing work schedules that allow employees to obey speed limits and to follow applicable hours-of-service regulations.