
Just when we'd all but forgotten about those rebate checks many of us received this Summer, the subject is coming up again now that we are approaching the year's end. Now is the time when many Americans begin to organize their documents for the upcoming tax season — can you believe the April deadline is just five months away? As you are entertaining the idea of filing your tax return, keep in mind that there could be more money headed your way than you'd thought.

Severance packages are like parting gifts from an employer that say 'sorry things didn't work out.' Forty-five percent of you said you'd
volunteer to give up your job if your boss asked for volunteers, and if that were reality you'd be rewarded with a severance package.
Because most companies use their own formulas for determining severance, it's difficult to predict how much severance you'd get should a pink slip come your way.

Watching a co-worker pack up after being laid off is saddening for those workers that made it through layoffs. Employees across most industries in the US are experiencing this solemn situation, and we should be prepared with what to say when someone we worked with gets a pink slip, so that we don't unintentionally come off as insensitive colleagues. See my tips for how to respond when you're told a co-worker will no longer be on payroll when you read more.