When it comes to holiday bonuses in Lawrence workplaces, gifts range from money to gift certificates to parties.

Then, some may just get the holiday off, or even nothing.

A record number of companies nationwide – 49 percent – will give year-end gifts or bonuses, according to a survey released by business information publisher BNA. That’s up from 40 percent in 2005.

In Lawrence, where the biggest employer is a public university, the traditional concept of a bonus – cash based on the company’s performance during the year – is less widespread than the informal practice of swapping gifts in the office.

“There’s the usual spate of holiday parties and that sort of thing, but those are usually self-funded,” said Dennis Constance, a senior custodial supervisor for KU and a former city commissioner. “We just had ours, but it was a potluck.”

According to the BNA survey, 82 percent of employers will have at least one party this year and the majority – 86 percent – will pick up the tab in full, an average of $36 per employee.

Despite paying for their own parties, KU’s support staff employees get an annual bonus of $40 for every year of service over 10 years, up to $1,000 maximum, but that’s pegged to the date they started – not the holidays.

“My own bonus happens to come late in the fall. For me, it kind of works out to be a Christmas bonus,” Constance said. “I’ve already spent it on Christmas.”

Other local businesses give cash bonuses as well.

David Livingood, one of the owners of GLPM Architects Inc., said the firm’s 21 employees received bonus checks this week representing a portion of the company’s annual profits.

Mortgage consultant David Omar remembers a year in the early 1990s when he owned his own business and gave each employee a 00 holiday bonus. Employee bonuses in Lawrence range from nothing, to getting the day off, to substantial gifts.

“It’s not like Goldman Sachs,” he said, referring to the Wall Street investment bank that gave out an average of $600,000 per employee this year. “We’d like for it to be significant enough that they can do something special.”

A little something extra

At Lawrence’s Wal-Mart store, there was no word as of this week on whether employees would get a bonus.

“We are still in the course of a fiscal year, and no bonuses have been determined at this point,” spokesman Dan Fogleman said.

Amarr Garage Door, 3800 Greenway Circle, gives its 700 employees each a $50 gift certificate to use at Chamber of Commerce businesses.

“No. 1, it gives our employees a little extra something at the holiday time, and No. 2, it supports our local businesses,” said Kirsten Krug, Amarr human resources director. “We’re pumping $35,000 back into the community.”

Topeka-based Capitol Federal Savings, with four branches in Lawrence, gives out various gifts, with traditional holiday bonuses reserved for longer-serving employees.

“It’s based on longevity, and we do anything from candy-type things to money,” said Jeri Hansen, human resources director.

The full-time employees at First Management, a property-management company, get bonuses ranging from roughly $25 up to $1,000, based on their years of experience and job position, said Shannon Abrahamson, business manager.

“We give them a card that says we appreciate their hard work and their success in the organization,” she said.

At Lawrence Memorial Hospital, employees received “kind of a bonus” this year when their 3.5-percent cost-of-living increase was added to their paychecks with three paydays left in the year, spokeswoman Belinda Rehmer said. Employees also got $25 gift certificates to the hospital’s gift shop.

The year-round bonus

The seven full-time and five part-time employees at The Dusty Bookshelf, a used-book shop at 708 Mass., get a store credit based on a percentage of their yearly earnings to buy from the latest stock.

“That’s the all-year-round bonus – being able to pick first the stuff that comes in,” store manager Shannon Jones said.

For some workers, the biggest bonuses come from customers or others they encounter on the job. Massage therapist Linda Clark said her regular clients are generous this time of year, and that the best gift she ever received at the holidays was a $100 bill.

Realtor Sean Williams said he typically gets food, cards and other gifts from clients. But the best holiday bonus he ever received was in his childhood when he was a newspaper carrier. A client who knew he collected coins gave him an old silver dollar from an obscure mint.

“It was a relatively small gift, but it meant a lot,” he said.

Bosses receive bonuses, too.

Mortgage consultant David Omar remembers a year in the early 1990s when he owned his own business and gave each employee a $500 bonus. They remembered him with a marble and brass desk set – clock, business-card holder, pen holders – that he keeps on his desk to this day.

“It’s really my favorite gift that I’ve gotten at the holidays,” he said. “Each employee at the company made a very good living, and they were very appreciative.”