(Business 2.0) – Q I recently took over a department full of employees who expect me to do what their last boss did: Dress as Santa for our holiday party. I'd rather die. How do I wiggle out of this duty without hurting worker morale?

A Not everyone can be a Herb Kelleher, the charismatic co-founder of Southwest Airlines who famously dressed as Elvis to rally his troops. Or a Robert Shillman, the CEO of software maker Cognex, who last December proudly donned his Santa suit and then cruised the halls of the Natick, Mass., company on a motor scooter to hand out gift certificates. Sure, such stunts are for the employees. But bosses need to unwind too, and a Santa who stares at his boots during the party won't enjoy himself or spread much cheer. So ask one of your staffers to wear the XXL jumpsuit--but be sure to find another way to show the crew that you're happy to be there. Open the party with a toast or help your employees' kids unwrap their gifts.

In the long term, it often pays to put your staff's happiness first. Even Shillman, known as "Dr. Bob" around Cognex, understands that he can't always be the chief fun hog. "I don't play Frisbee, but it's important to my engineers, so we bought a field," he says. "You have to support what people love in some way." Your way doesn't have to involve purchasing land. Does the staff get pizza delivered on Fridays? Foot the bill sometime and hang around for a slice. You might even enjoy yourself.

Q After a few drinks, a co-worker told me about a screenplay he's writing. It's based on our office, and he said my character plays a significant role. I'm really not hot on the whole world knowing I obsessively vacuum crumbs out of my keyboard. Can he do this?

A Yup. It's a strange world where you can get busted for purloining office notepads and not for appropriating chunks of a peer's life. But in this country, works of fiction are protected as free speech. Remember Michael Costanza, the Long Islander who claimed that Jerry Seinfeld had based the hapless George Costanza character on him? The real Costanza got nowhere in court, even though he's also short and fat. "You can get annoyed, but all the great books and movies have probably been based on someone's life," says UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh. "That's what writers do." If his project truly will undermine your professional relationship, you can try telling him that you're upset and would like to be cut from the story. If he refuses, though, you don't have much recourse. My advice: Get over yourself and be grateful that you work with a moonlighting screenwriter instead of a 9-to-5 cyborg.

Q My five-year-old company, launched with my life savings, is finally generating serious profits. Yet I still live like a starving student. I want to reward myself with a real salary and a fancy toy (I'm thinking Ferrari). At what point is it OK to compensate myself like a true CEO?

A Before you go kicking Pirellis, stop and ask yourself this: Are your employees still sitting on folding chairs and eating ramen at their desks? "If they feel underpaid and you're driving a fancy car," says Steve Patchel, a compensation consultant at Watson Wyatt in Silicon Valley, "it will blow up the company." But if workers feel fairly treated, Patchel adds, "they won't mind that the boss is doing well." Exactly how much to pay yourself should depend on the success of your firm. Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at the Corporate Library, an independent research firm in Portland, Maine, that specializes in corporate governance issues, says to tie about 80 percent of your compensation to company performance. That'll keep your conscience clear when you roar up to the office in that new, bright-red Italian job.

Evelyn Nussenbaum writes extensively on workplace issues. Send your career questions to AskEvelyn@business2.com.