Four of five employers will offer some type of holiday bonus or gift this year, but most are not the kind Wall Street gets, which this year is likely to surpass $164,000 on average, according to consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

In the survey, 78 percent of respondents said their companies are offering a year-end gift or bonus, up from 53 percent a year ago, according to the survey of about 100 human resources professionals in November.

About half of companies awarding bonuses plan to give monetary bonuses based on company, departmental or employee performance, up over last year's 44 percent.

The other half of respondents said their companies are handing out smaller monetary or nonmonetary gifts, typically worth less than $100, including gift cards, cash or a gift.

Increased corporate profits are also driving year-end bonuses, the firm said. In the third quarter, corporate profits reached a record high of nearly $1.9 trillion, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

- Chicago Tribune