American severance is generally not required by law. It is offered in exchange for a signed release of claims, and the amount is a negotiation. What a German receives by statute, an American receives by agreement.
The 401(k)
American retirement saving is portable by design — the account belongs to the employee and moves with them between employers. The pension is detached from the job deliberately, so that leaving costs nothing in accrued benefit.
Staying marketable
Stay marketable. Keep your résumé current. Always be networking. Your network is your net worth.
American career advice, given as a permanent instruction rather than as something to do when looking. Security is described as a property of the individual, maintained continuously.
COBRA
American health insurance is usually tied to the job, and federal law allows a departing employee to continue the employer’s plan — at the full unsubsidised cost, which is typically several times what they were paying. The bridge exists and it is expensive.
The layoff
American reductions in force are announced publicly, executed quickly and often in a single day, with severance offered rather than required. The word is neutral in American English and carries no implication of fault on either side.
Employment at will
The American default: either party may end the relationship at any time for any lawful reason, without notice. Forty-nine states apply it. There is no statutory dismissal protection accruing with service, and no requirement to justify the decision.
Keeping score
Money talks. Show me the money. Put your money where your mouth is. What’s the number? It’s not about the money — it’s about the money.
American expressions in which the figure stands for the assessment. Compensation is discussed openly and read as a verdict.
Glassdoor and Levels.fyi
American employees publish their own compensation to public databases, by company, level and location. The market price of a role is crowdsourced and freely available to anyone considering a move.
Salary transparency laws
More than a dozen American states now require employers to publish pay ranges in job postings, most of that legislation passed since 2021. The remedy chosen for pay inequity was to make the numbers visible.
Total compensation
An American term of art covering salary, bonus, equity, retirement contributions and the employer’s share of insurance. The employee is encouraged to think of the whole package as one number, and comparison sites publish it that way.