Good bonuses and bad gifts: holiday cheer in the office this season

Spirits will be bright for many workers this season as holiday bonuses, parties and gift exchanges take place. CareerBuilder’s annual study shows companies plan to offer more perks than last year, another sign the economy is recovering and businesses can afford to spread more holiday cheer.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for bonuses
Bonuses aren’t always a certainty, though this year more workers will receive this holiday perk than in recent years. When surveyed, 46 percent of employers said they expect to give their employees holiday bonuses this year, up from 40 percent last year and 33 percent in 2010. Nearly one in five of them (19 percent) plan to provide a larger bonus than last year.

Deck the halls of the office for holiday parties
Holiday parties are alive and well this season, though not everybody’s thrilled for the office mingling. While 60 percent of employers are throwing a holiday party for their employees this year, up from 58 percent last year and 53 percent in 2010, only 40 percent of workers say they plan to attend.

If you RSVP’d “yes” for your office party, be sure to keep your workplace wardrobe rules in mind when getting ready and try not to get too wild at the party, or you may have to deal with an embarrassing situation come Monday.

Lovely weather for a gift exchange together
Santa may be visiting your office this year: 36 percent of employers plan to give holiday gifts, up from 30 percent in 2011 and 2010. Twenty-three percent of workers plan to buy holiday gifts for co-workers this year and 22 percent are buying for their boss.

The majority (81 percent) of workers who plan to buy gifts expect to spend $25 or less for each holiday gift they buy for the office. Thirty-eight percent plan to spend $10 or less and 10 percent plan to spend less than $5.

While a nice gift doesn’t necessarily have to be pricey, those spending less than $5 for gifts may be the explanation for why some workers were left wishing for coal instead of these strange gifts workers reported when asked to share the most memorable gifts received from co-workers:

• CD of the co-worker’s recorded songs
• Dolphin oven mitt
• 4 rolls of toilet paper
• A harpoon
• Can of wasp spray
• Jar of sand
• Homemade pickles
• Conch shell
• Lava lamp filled with fake fish
• Expired body lotion
• Book about kittens