(MONEY Magazine) – Q I work for a large corporation at an executive level and put in long hours. Occasionally I ask my secretary to take care of some of my personal business. For example, I've asked her to shop for presents and to make travel plans for my vacations. My husband says that since her salary is paid by the company, it's unethical to have her run errands for me. Is it?

ANSWER Maybe. Corporations often allow executives to hand off some personal business to their secretaries. As to what's acceptable in your situation, it matters less how late you work and more what the conventions are at the company you work for. Without knowing the culture of your workplace, we'd say that if you're asking your secretary to do more than you'd want your boss to know about, you're probably asking too much.

You may also be asking too much if your secretary was hired with the understanding that she would do only office work. While some secretaries are happy to take care of their boss' personal business and others simply don't mind it, there are those who think it undermines their professional status and even demeans them. We hope for her sake that your secretary isn't one of the latter.

If she is, both of you are at fault: you, for failing to make your expectations clear when you hired her (an ethical lapse), and your secretary, for failing to inquire--at the time she was offered the job--if it involved chores that she finds distasteful. Silence may be golden in some situations, but in job interviews it's communication that counts.

Questions about money and ethics? Our ethicists are consultants who advise attorneys on people's ethical beliefs. E-mail them at right_thing@moneymail.com.

...A reason to be tankful: Before you hit the road, hit up GasBuddy.com. The full-service site will find the cheapest gallon in your 'hood...