Farewell Messages for a Coworker

The farewell card for a coworker is the card most people get wrong, and for an understandable reason. You are writing to someone you may have sat next to for years, about a relationship that was real but was also, in large part, about work. "Good luck in your next role" is true and feels like nothing. "I'll miss you" might be more than you mean.

The way through is the same as for any card: be specific about what they did, and honest about what you will notice when they are gone. Below are farewell messages sorted by situation, from the colleague you barely knew to the one you would follow to another company, plus wording for the harder leavings, and a section on getting the whole team into one goodbye card without the envelope going round the office for a week.

What to say in a farewell card for a coworker

Three ingredients, and you only need two:

One specific thing they did. A project, a habit, a moment. "Thanks for always answering my Slack messages at 4:59 p.m." beats any amount of "you've been a great colleague."
One thing you will miss. The 8 a.m. coffee, the dry commentary in all-hands, the fact that the printer worked when they were in.
A good wish for what is next. Short. This is the part everyone writes, so it can be the smallest.

If the person is leaving under a cloud, or being let go, skip the third one or keep it gentle. There is a section for that below.

Short farewell messages for a coworker

For when you did not work closely together, or the card is already crowded.

Best of luck in your new role. You'll be missed here.
It's been a pleasure working with you. All the best for what's next.
Wishing you every success. Don't be a stranger.
Good luck! The team won't be the same without you.
Thank you for everything. Go and be brilliant somewhere else.
Sorry to see you go. Very glad to have worked with you.
All the best for the next chapter. You've earned it.
Farewell and good luck. Keep in touch.
Thanks for being such a good colleague. The new place is lucky.
It's been great. Go well.

Farewell messages for a coworker you worked closely with

I've lost count of the number of times you saved a deadline, a demo or my sanity. Thank you for all of it. Good luck out there.
Working with you was the best part of this job. I'm going to need a new reason to come in early.
You taught me more about this work than any manual. Thank you, and good luck in the new role.
Thank you for the honest feedback, the shared snacks and the loud laugh. The floor is going to be a lot quieter.
You're the person I'd call if everything was on fire. I hope the new place knows what they've got.
Three years of sitting next to you and I still didn't get bored. That's a compliment I don't give lightly. Good luck.
We built some good things together. Thank you for being the kind of partner who shows up. Go and build more.
I'm genuinely gutted. Also genuinely happy for you. Good luck, and let's get that lunch we keep talking about.
Thanks for pulling me into the project nobody wanted and making it the one everyone remembers.
You've been a great colleague and a better friend. This is "see you later," not goodbye.

Farewell messages for a coworker who was also a friend

I'm not saying goodbye because you're not getting rid of me that easily. Good luck, and I'll see you Friday.
Work brought us together and work isn't ending it. Congratulations on the new job. Dinner's on you.
You made this place feel like somewhere I belonged. Thank you. Go and do the same for the next lot.
The group chat survives the leaving date. Good luck, and we expect updates.
Thank you for being the person I could tell the truth to at work. That's rare. Good luck in the new role, and keep telling me the truth.
Of everything I got from this job, your friendship is the thing I'd keep. Good luck. Call me.

Farewell messages for a coworker leaving for a new job

Congratulations on the new job! They're getting someone exceptional, and we're losing one.
Good luck in the new role. Remember us when you're running the place.
They poached the right person. Congratulations, and go show them.
Wishing you a great start in the new job. You've been ready for this for a while.
Congratulations! The new team has no idea how good they're about to have it.
Good luck on your first day. Don't let them give you the desk by the printer.

Farewell messages for a coworker who is retiring

Congratulations on your retirement. Thank you for the decades of good work and better advice.
You've earned every lie-in that's coming. Happy retirement, and thank you for everything.
Retirement suits you already. Thank you for showing the rest of us how to do this job properly.
The place will carry on, but it will do it less well. Enjoy every minute of retirement.
Thank you for mentoring half the people in this room. Happy retirement from all of them.
Happy retirement! Please come back and tell us how it's going. Bring cake.

Farewell messages for a coworker moving to another team or office

Not goodbye, just a different floor. Good luck with the new team, and keep coming to lunch.
Congratulations on the move. The new team is lucky, and we're still in the same building, so there's no escape.
Good luck in the new office. We'll keep your mug exactly where it is.
Enjoy the new team. Our Slack channel is still open to you. Mostly for complaints.
Wishing you well in the new role. Thanks for all the help across the aisle.

Farewell messages for a coworker leaving on parental leave or for family reasons

Enjoy every minute of the leave. We'll keep things ticking over. Send photos.
Good luck with the new arrival! The spreadsheet will still be here when you're back. Unfortunately.
Wishing you a wonderful few months at home. Everything here can wait.
Take all the time you need. We'll miss you, and we're thrilled for you.
Go and be with your family. It's the right call. We're here when you're ready.

Farewell messages for a coworker who was let go

Redundancy and restructuring call for a different card. Skip "exciting next chapter." Write to the person, and to what they did.

I'm sorry it's ending this way. Thank you for everything you did here, which was a lot.
You did excellent work, and this decision doesn't change that. I'll say so to anyone who asks.
Thank you for the way you've handled a rough few weeks. Wherever you land, they'll be lucky.
This isn't the send-off you deserved. Thank you for being a great colleague. Let's stay in touch.
You made this team better. That doesn't stop being true today. Call me if you need a reference, or a pint.

Funny farewell messages for a coworker

For an office that jokes, and a leaver who would prefer a laugh to a lump in the throat.

Congratulations on escaping. Please send a map.
You've been an amazing colleague. Mostly. Good luck!
We'll miss you. Your stapler, however, stays.
Good luck in the new job. Remember: we were never here, and you've never seen the Q3 numbers.
Thanks for always knowing how to fix the printer. Nobody else does. We're doomed.
Leaving us for a better salary and a shorter commute? Fair enough. Good luck.
Your last day. Finally, I can tell you: I've been eating your yoghurts.
Goodbye and good luck! Don't forget to take your plant. Nobody else will water it.
The new place has better coffee? We'll allow it. Good luck.
You're leaving at the perfect time. Your work here was done. Ages ago, honestly.

Farewell messages from the whole team

A line to open a group card, before everyone adds their own note.

From all of us: thank you, good luck, and don't you dare lose our number.
The whole team wanted to say goodbye properly, so we each wrote something. Read it on the train.
It took every one of us to fill this card, which is about right for the gap you're leaving.
Goodbye from the team you built. We'll try not to let it fall apart before the end of the quarter.
We're sad, we're proud, and we're going to say so one at a time. Good luck from everybody.

Farewell card etiquette: a few quick answers

How long should a farewell message be? Two to four sentences is plenty for an individual note in a group card. If you are writing your own card, a paragraph is fine. Nobody has ever complained that a goodbye message was too short, as long as it said something.

Should I write in a card for a coworker I didn't like? Yes, briefly. "Best of luck in the new role" and your name costs you nothing and avoids a visible blank. You do not have to mean more than you write.

Should I mention why they're leaving? Only if it is good news they have shared. A new job, a baby or a retirement can be named. Redundancy, illness or a difficult exit should not be referred to unless the person has been open about it.

Can I sign it from my family too? If they knew your partner or kids, absolutely. "From all of us at home" is a warm touch for a long-serving colleague.

How to make a farewell card the whole team signs

The paper farewell card has a known failure mode: it lives in a drawer, it is passed around under the leaver's nose, and it comes back with eleven versions of "good luck!" and three names missing because they were on holiday or remote.

A group farewell card at a link works differently. One person starts it, drops the link in a channel the leaver is not in, and everyone writes privately from their own device. Messages tend to be longer and warmer when nobody is watching you write them. Photos from the Christmas party and the offsite go in alongside the notes, and the colleague in the other time zone records a thirty-second video instead of being a missing signature.

On the last day, the card is sent as a reveal: the leaver opens an envelope on screen, hears the song the team picked and watches every message arrive one at a time. It is closer to a send-off than a card. If someone wants a physical keepsake for the leaving drinks, the same card can be printed with a handwritten note inside and mailed to wherever they are heading.

One practical tip: set the deadline a day before the last day, not the day itself. The last day is chaos, and a card that is full by the morning is one less thing to chase.