This pretty pile of cash was a welcome sight for these migrant workers at a construction site in Xi'an, in Shaanxi province, China.

The money was handed out to them on Wednesday as salaries and bonuses before they headed home for the Spring Festival. Many businesses pay their employees their annual bonuses in cash at this time of the year, which workers use to buy gifts for their families.

Not everyone has been this lucky this year. According to a survey by Chinese employment agency Zhaopin, more than half of the country's white-collar employees received no year-end bonus ahead of the upcoming holiday. Many blame this on China's sluggish growth last year, reported the Financial Times. The size of bonuses received is also said to have decreased considerably.

This could have an impact on employers: 39 per cent of the survey respondents said that they would look for other jobs if their year-end bonus was not satisfactory.