Many workers facing termination are experiencing a so-called “long goodbye” when being let go, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Such terminations are taking the form of a long lead time between being informed of the job loss and actually leaving, rather than a sudden, same-day notice. Two large employers, Wells Fargo and Disney, have done this, and this trend is being attributed to employers’ trying to appear transparent and compassionate when laying off workers,  several executives and leadership consultants told the Journal.

“Companies can’t lay people off on the quiet anymore,” said Sarah Rodehorst, chief executive of Onwards HR, a software platform that helps companies with legal compliance during employee terminations. “Whatever they do is much more under a microscope. They have to hold themselves to a higher standard.”

Social media can also be on the minds of employers, as laid-off employees can vent online and circulate internal details, said George Penn, a managing vice president at Gartner who advises companies on staff restructuring.

“Layoffs became not only a legal but a reputational nightmare for some organizations,” he said.

Some laid-off employees told the Journal that they would still receive severance pay after their long notice periods, but it would be reduced if they left before their designated end dates.

James Ridgway Jr., 40, a communications manager for a Houston-area chemical company, learned in August that he would lose his job at the end of the year. He said the long lead time has given him more time to network and tighten family finances. He is looking for another full-time job but, because his colleagues know he is job-hunting, leaving the office for interviews is less awkward than pretending to have doctors’ appointments, he said.

The company's senior vice president of global human resources told the Journal that giving laid-off employees months of notice indicates to remaining and prospective workers that it treats its people well. That approach, he said, could help the company recruit and retain good hires going forward.

One Wells Fargo employee told the Journal that staying motivated after being terminated was difficult. She was told months ago that her job would be eliminated and, because no precise date was given, it was hard for her to plan her job search. “Every day, you go in, and you’re like, is it going to be today?” she said.

Wells Fargo told the Journal that it periodically needs to adjust its staffing levels because of changing business needs.

Change Healthcare decided to inform employees two to four weeks ahead of their layoff dates, its former senior vice president of human resources, Jennifer Bender, told the Journal. It felt more compassionate to workers, and it also made it easier to move people into other, unfilled roles, she said.

Although risks can arise from long notice periods, including security issues or unmotivated people who don’t want to work during that time, Bender said the company let its employees know that performance issues could still result in corrective action, including termination for cause.