I wrote a story for Time.com. It begins:
As the economic slump persists, companies are becoming stingier with the severance packages they offer laid-off workers. At the same time, more employees are asking their firms to tweak the terms of their parting pay — a shot to get more as they head for the door…
The landscape of severance negotiation has changed dramatically since the last recession. In 2001, just 5% of professional workers and 4% of administrative and support staffers negotiated their exit packages, according to a survey by HR consultancy Lee Hecht Harrison. In 2008, a full 31% of professionals and some 22% of administrative workers did. Building up the gumption to ask for a better deal is particularly important today as struggling companies offer less: nearly a tenth of firms are on the cusp of reducing cash payments, according to a survey by the consultancy Hewitt Associates, and a good many are cutting back on benefits, too.
So how do you go about negotiating severance? [Click here to read the rest.]
The story is now getting pulled into the dead-paper version of what we do around here—and I need some anecdotes to juice it up. If you negotiated your severance package and would be kind enough to share the story with me, drop me an email at barbara_kiviat@timemagazine.com. Thank you!
And if you want to read some things about my personal life first, in order to feel more comfortable sharing the details of yours, take a look at this other recent Time.com article.
Barbara!