Of the 1288 Irish workers questioned by the company, 44% said they would be receiving a Christmas pay bonus from their employers. The survey does suggest, however, that Irish bosses are becoming more generous. Last year just 33% of those surveyed received an end-of-year bonus.

The majority of those who received bonuses this year, 67%, said they would get less than 1,000; 29% received between 2,000 and 5,000 and 5% received over 5,000.

With such corporate largesse in evidence it is not surprising that the respondents generally felt bullish about the prospects for 2007. The survey shows 80% of employees expect a salary increase over the next year and 68% expect the economy to perform better next year than it has this year. CB