Companies are in a bit more of a giving mood this holiday season, a Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. survey of about 100 human resources executives found.

This year, 64 percent of surveyed employers are planning on rewarding their employees with holiday bonus checks. That’s up from the 54 percent that planned to give holiday bonuses in 2008, and a sign that although companies may not be ready to accelerate hiring, they are cognizant of the potential to lose high-performing workers if the job market improves.

“While most can probably justify postponing bonuses another year, there are growing concerns that job market improvements in 2010 could bring an exodus of workers,” said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a release.

Nearly two-thirds of managers were highly or very highly concerned about losing high-potential talent in the year after the recession ends, a survey by consultancy firm Deloitte found.

“In addition to layoffs, the recession forced many employers to decrease workers’ hours, institute pay cuts, force employees to take unpaid vacations and halt matching 401(k) contributions,” Challenger said. “While some of these measures have saved jobs, they undoubtedly left many workers disgruntled, frustrated and ready to move on as soon as the market improves.”

Not only are more employers giving bonuses, but 8 percent of those polled said they were planning on giving larger bonus checks than they did in the previous year. Not a single company in the 2008 survey said it was planning on giving a larger bonus than in the previous year.