by Carmen Van Kerckhove

There are two great workplace-related blog carnivals for you to check out.

The latest edition of the Carnival of the Capitalists is up on Spooky Action. Some of my favorite posts were:

Planning an Business Trip from the Basic Accounting blog
“It is possible to combine a business trip and family vacation, but there are things you should do right to make it legal. Every summer there are seminars and work related trips to be taken and it is fine to take your family along. Be aware that only the business part of your trip is tax deductible.”

5 Steps to Achieving the 24-hour Work Week (Which Beats The 4-Hour Work Week) from The Dough Roller
“…having spent some time considering what Ferriss had to say, I’ve concluded that a 24-hour work week is more realistic (although still difficult to achieve) and would free up a lot of time to do the things I enjoy. Like so much in personal finance, our choices are not all or nothing. Balance and compromise are good choices.”

Why Getting a Degree Isn’t Always a Sound Financial Decision from SavingAdvice.com
“I still hold the old-fashioned notion that an education for the sake of education is worthwhile, but if you are someone who doesn’t enjoy formal learning and you are getting a degree only for financial gain, you may be better off investing your money in something other than an education.”

Also head on over to Compensation Force for the latest installment of the Carnival of HR. Some of my favorite posts were:

Why Companies Keep Jerks Around… from The HR Capitalist
“Like chemical weapons, corporate America keeps problematic employees (or in simpler terms, jerks/ass$#$es) for a very specific reason. The employee usually has a very specific skill set that the management team in question values. For this reason, all the negative behavior and impact is tolerated.”

Tattoo? And You Want To Work Here? from The Career Revolution
“does the fact that you have a tattoo represent the image that your employer wants to portray to it’s customers and clients - and especially their potential customers and clients? When $$ and profits are concerned your employer will always care. Since you already work there you’re probably safe today.”

how to answer “what are your weaknesses?” from Ask a Manager
“Here’s part one of formulating your answer: Think seriously about your weak points. What have you struggled with in the past? What have past managers encouraged you to do differently? If you could wave a magic wand over your head and change something about your work skills or persona, what would it be? And here’s part two: What are you doing about it?”

Thanks to Spooky Action and Compensation Force for including my post on how to respond to a racist joke!