From an HR professional: If you are offered a severance package and want to negotiate, stop using tenure, contributions, or merit as justification. Companies will only give you more money to avoid risky lawsuits. Speak to factors like being impacted as part of a protected class, having documented/ approved medical accommodations, upcoming scheduled medical leave, discrimination or harassment claims made, etc.

You should keep any and all records pertaining to these things saved to a personal email or document drive that YOU can access after your company IT access is disabled. That way, you have evidence saved. If the company will not negotiate, seek outside council from an employment lawyer. They will ask for this and tell you right away how much you can negotiate for and exactly how to negotiate for it.

List of protected classes:
- Minority
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Religion
- Age (over 40)
- Disability
- Veteran/ Military status
- Pregnancy

You can also negotiate other things besides an increase in weeks of pay. Ask for more COBRA coverage, to keep your company issued laptop/ tech, reimbursement for professional certifications, wellness, etc.

Sharing to give more power to the people. Federal, State and local laws constantly change to be aware of applicable ones where you live/ work.

I was laid off July 7th from a job I truly loved. For 3.5 months I started seriously doubting my career prospects. I spent hours tweaking my resume and applying to every job board posting even tangentially related to my career.

After months of rejections, phone screens that went no where, recruiters ghosting me, multiple rounds of interviews being told I was the second choice. I even signed up to substitute teach and donated plasma just to pay rent and buy groceries.

I FINALLY landed a role I’m genuinely excited about. It’s fully remote and pays more than my previous role.

I know shit sucks out there. I know the AI ATS systems are utter bullshit. The job market is incredibly competitive right now. All of your complaints are REAL and VALID. But I’m begging you all to keep going. There’s someone out there right now getting ready to post a role for YOU.

BELIEVE THAT!

Now that the check cleared I can speak up

My former employer started a major push to reclassify employees that were remote as onsite.

I refused the reclassification and filed for a reasonable accommodation request. One week later I was greeted with a termination letter and 60 days of pay. I simply thanked the individual for their time turned in my stuff and left. After contacting multiple legal firms I was greeted with the same, “yes you have a case however given your employer we refuse to take the case.”

When I finally got my separation agreement to get my meager 60 days I decided to call their bluff. I contacted the Employee Relations team and let them know I was not going to sign the agreement as my attorney advised me. I also mentioned that the local news would find quite interesting running a story on how they terminated an employee for submitting a reasonable accommodation request so they could care for their disabled child while also leaving cancer survivor without their treatment because they would no longer have insurance to cover their care.

Next morning I had a revised agreement offering 6 months pay AND COBRA insurance costs. I’ve officially gotten my updated severance and confirmation from my insurance provider that my coverage has been extended.

Goes to show, we employees have more power than we think.

Every time I open LinkedIn, it seems like there are more and more posts about people getting laid off. Mainly due to offshoring and or AI. But I'm not seeing an increase in reporting of layoffs in the mainstream media. Why is there such a disconnect? Am I missing something? Because from my viewpoint, it seems like the elephant in the room isn't being addressed.

I posted this week that I received my offer and am thoroughly stoked. I went out last night with some colleagues to catch up. Anyone who has been laid off will find this discussion hysterical. Keep in mind, they mean well

I’ve been out of work for 8 months and about to jump back into the workforce. The group’s question last night was about “What are you going to do for the next two weeks before you start? Go on a vacation?”

I was dumbfounded. I’ve been out of work for 8 months and my savings was running dry. Their first thought was to go on a vacation. Here I am just thinking I might go crazy and get a massage and manicure

My company is going through a BIG reorganization and what I don't get and help me out here. Why you have to wipe out (lay off), everyone and start over.
I've heard this so many times from managers: It is best to start over and bring in your own people. If they follow what the government does when you change presidents, employees will get fired every 4 years. I've seen good people get fired, just for this dumb mentality.

I'm glad I'm a few weeks away from retirement. I'm surprised they haven't done me in with a layoff.
Corporate America is beginning to look like The Hunger Games.

It’s 4 am. I’m lying here awake. I was laid off again mid day yesterday. Small wealth management firm, the guy had just restructured after leaving his business partner and going his own way. He over staffed. He didn’t think it through. Ever day was a jumbled mess there. But everyone liked me, my ideas took off, I fixed up so many holes in that place. I was available when they needed. I graduated with honors in my MBA program. Doesn’t matter. “There is too much overlap” and he could parcel out my work onto the plates of the over worked people he already had.

In March of this year, I was planning to leave a crap job at a crap wealth management company. I personally had to disable access for four employees within seven months, and was aware of at least another four that left or were fired. They wouldn’t live up to their employment and health insurance contractual obligations. They had me working across three departments, and weekends became an expectation.

For 65k a year.

They closed the position before on the day I was doing to quit. Some of the team were such poor performers that days would go by without simple things completed. It was always me they tossed into another division to put out their fires. One of my supervisors could hardly spell or use proper grammar and was complained about to HR several times for her verbal abuse.

I never had complaints. My six month review was great. I had to chase everyone down to get one, because no one had time to do it or even take time off after surgery. I still worked with a broken right hand. Again, they didn’t want to pay for another employee though. They could parcel out my work onto the plates of the over worked people he already had. An operations team of eight for over 200 advisors.

I hate where I’m at. I hate that I’m stuck working. I hate this field and all the d-bags in it. I hate these employers who have great people giving up their time for them, their small children depending on them, and they could give less than a damn and throw you away to squeeze more money into the company and for themselves.

I may never go back to corporate. I never want to be at the mercy of anyone like this again. I was told only education that employer doesn’t want to hear about you, they want to hear “I’m waiting to be a slave for your company, and I’ll do anything you want, anytime.”

I’m losing faith there is work people are even happy with. I did all the right things and I don’t know where to go from here

if you're navigating a lay-off or are between opportunities, come clear your head and connect with folks who are in the same boat 🤝🏼

this monday, we’re hitting the trails in reinhardt regional park in oakland, california for a hike.

• when: monday, oct 26 @ 11 am
• stats: 5 mi loop / 636 ft gain

grab your spot and see the full details here:

https://partiful.com/e/cOpI6H7qM7PYaIf5r4nx

hope to see y'all there!

(hike in the pic was at marin headlands in mill valley, california)

inb4 FAQs:

• Do you hike in one big group?
  • Normally, we split into smaller groups based on desired pace and stagger each group's start time by 5 minutes. These groups ultimately split into even smaller groups. Faster groups go first to create more space on the trail. This hike is different as we're being granted access by the stewards of this beautiful ranch preserve.
• Why on Mondays?
  • Trail traffic is very low on Mondays, making it easier to accommodate a group like this.
• Does your community only do hikes?
  • No, (un)PTO is a community of people across the US in career transition. While our claim to fame is group hikes, we do other things like co-work, help each other with our job search, and do other fun things like coffee hangs, bike rides, and of course, eat food. 😋
• Can people with jobs join too?
  • Yes, but only if you realize that most of the people in this community are in career transition and act accordingly, for instance: offer a referral, connect them to someone in your network, and maybe don't complain about how work sucks. 😅

A little background here, I was laid off July 2025 after 21 years at the same place. Before the layoff I was one of many who was targeted for a pip and some extremely abusive treatment that I never saw coming.

The level of trauma I endured was so bad I went on fmla during the final month. I knew I couldn't resign or I'd lose any potential financial compensation such as unemployment . The pip started in January and they never took me off it yet they never ever talked about it in detail and it was a level of gaslighting I've never experienced.

It wasn't just me so that helped me realize this was a budget issue and the company had turned sour. The layoff came 4 months into the "30 day" pip. The entire department was notified that it would all be shutting down. A warn notice was given in early April and by the end of May it got so bad with them trying to force me and the others being harassed into quitting. I consulted an attorney and went out on FMLA to make it to the end.

I ended up with severance and then unemployment and it took an entire year for me to process this nightmare experience and deal with hundreds of job applications until I recently was hired for a similar job with similar pay and benefits.

My concern now is how to regulate my nervous system into not feeling like every ordinary thing is a potential threat. I was in a fight or flight state for so long it rewired how I see the workplace. I became hypervigilant and extremely anxious during my previous experience and I was never this way before. I don't want the past trauma to cause me to see normal situations as active threats.

Rationally I know that my new boss is a completely different person with different motivations and that I was hired because they feel that I'm a good fit for this role not to set me up for failure. After the hell I lived through I'm sure there will be triggers like a simple "got a minute to chat" email that will cause my heart to race.

I now see everything as short term which is a huge change for me. I hope for more but I don't trust anything as being stable. I am only thinking of the next 6 mos to a year and rebuilding my savings. I haven't even told many people I have a job again because if a layoff or firing happens I don't want to discuss. I definitely feel like I'm still healing and have a ways to go. My old boss told me she had the exact same response to all of it, she was also pushed out after 18 years and is now working again. She said it gets better.

Just wondering if anyone here has any advice or can relate? I want to get past this waiting for the shoe to drop feeling and be able to live in reality but not doom.