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 [1] 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. CNN Money talked to several human resources [2] experts about the severance patterns they've been tracking. To see what you could expect in a severance package, .

• 31 percent of employers offer one week's salary per year of service.
• 20 percent of employers provide two weeks salary for every year of service.
• Example of a generous severance package: Fidelity Investments laid of employees this month, and they will stay on the payroll until the end of the year and remain eligible for a year-end bonus. After that, each will receive a payout based on their salary and years of service.
• Example of a less generous package: DHL recently laid off 9,500 employees, and most will receive two weeks pay, plus an additional week for each year of service, and will be reimbursed for any unused vacation time.
• Higher-ups don't get the standard package; for those making $100,000 or more a year a generous severance package is six months pay.

Source [3]