Employers are feeling more festive and generous this holiday season. However, as with their plans for adding to staff, their generosity appears to still be somewhat tempered by the not-so-distant recession.

A survey of more than 5,000 bosses and troops, courtesy of CareerBuilder, found that both year-end bonuses and holiday parties will be more common in the corporate world this December than last. The upticks for both, at least among those who participated in this survey, were modest at best.

Last year, 45 percent of employers surveyed by CareerBuilder handed out year-end bonuses. This year, the number crept up to 47 percent.

The percent of party-throwing bosses rose from 59 percent last year to 63 percent in this year’s survey, a nod to the morale-boosting effects such soirees can have. More bosses are giving out gifts this year too — the percent rose from 35 percent to 40 percent.

About one in five employees reported that they, too, would be gifting this season to co-workers and bosses. When asked to specify what gifts they would be bearing to the office, CareerBuilder received not only the expected responses (gift cards, CDs) but the following:

A box of Hot Pockets
A chess piece (just one piece, not a set)
A fire extinguisher
A voucher for a free lawn game of the co-worker's own invention
A turquoise leather vest
Zombie action figures
A sealed plastic bag with coffee (enough to make one pot)
A “gun of the day” calendar
A bag of chips
A Christmas ornament with the co-worker’s and spouse’s photos on it.

Instant Insights /

Thanks for the...fire extinguisher?

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