Laid-off workers would like to receive just over two months severance pay, i.e. nine weeks—but a mere 27% get severance pay of any kind, according to employer reviewing site JobSage.com.
On average, employers grant seven to 11 weeks of severance pay, depending on whether a worker is hourly, salaried and the length of their tenure, the JobSage survey of 1,000 laid-off Americans found.
Forty-two percent of salaried workers get severance pay—making them more than twice as likely as hourly employees to get a severance package, with only 18% of hourly workers receiving this benefit.
Those who recently found themselves without a job said their employer could have been more compassionate when laying them off; 35% said their employer did not express gratitude for their service, 24% were not given any space to process the news, and 21% had no opportunity to ask questions.
With news of job cuts at Facebook, Netflix, Tesla and Coinbase grabbing headlines, 23% of workers, across the board among all ages, are fearful of losing their position.
Respondents said they preferred to get a pink slip on Friday, in the morning, and to have 15 to 30 minutes to ask questions.
The worst thing an employer can do when showing a worker the door, they said, is to fail to offer context for the dismissal, not being responsive to questions and being escorted from the premises by a security guard.
Unemployment assistance that would be the most beneficial, they said, would be: severance pay, followed by a health insurance stipend for at least a few months, company equity, LinkedIn connections/introductions, permission to keep a laptop or other company equipment, and, finally, career coaching.
Other perks further down the list of priorities include gym memberships and subscriptions.