What to write / What to write in a leaving card
What to write in a leaving card
The leaving card lands on your desk inside a folder, with a collection envelope and about four minutes to think of something. If you worked with them every day there is too much to say. If you barely knew them there is almost nothing.
Here are 56 messages for both, and for everything in between: a work friend, your boss, someone on your team, a new job, redundancy, maternity or paternity leave, a move abroad and a teacher leaving a school.
The one thing that matters most: say one specific thing. A single true detail (the lifts home, the calm in a crisis, the good biscuits) is worth more than three lines of good luck.
How to write one
One line is enough in a group card
A leaving card is shared space. One good line leaves room for everyone else, and it is the kind that gets read aloud at the leaving do. Keep the longer message for a card of your own.
Say one specific thing
Thank them for something they did, or name something you will miss: the way they explained things, the playlist, the fact that they always asked how your weekend was. It shows the message is for them and nobody else.
Don't repeat the message above yours
Read the card before you write in it. If three people have already put "good luck, you'll be missed", find another way in: a thank you, a memory, a joke about the printer.
When you didn't know them well
Keep it short and true. "All the best for the future" is perfectly good. If you can add one thing you noticed, such as a friendly good morning, do. Don't pretend to a closeness you didn't have.
When they didn't choose to go
Redundancy needs a different card. Leave out the cheerful talk of fresh starts and silver linings. Say you are sorry, say they were good at the job, and offer something practical: a reference, an introduction, a coffee.
Short leaving card messages
One-liners for a card that is already nearly full.
Good luck. They're lucky to have you.
It won't be the same without you. Go and be brilliant.
Sorry you're going, glad about where you're going.
All the best for the next bit. Don't forget us.
Thank you for everything, and I do mean the lot.
Best of luck. Come back and visit, and bring biscuits.
Leaving messages for a work friend
For the one who made the job worth turning up for.
Who am I meant to pull faces at in meetings now? I'm thrilled for you and slightly furious. Good luck, and lunch is going in the diary whether you like it or not.
You made this place a lot easier to walk into on a Monday. I'll miss you every day, and especially at eleven, when it was your turn to make the tea.
You were my first friend here and you're still my favourite. The job was only ever half the reason I came in. Go and smash it.
I'm keeping your number, your lunch recommendations and every one of our terrible in-jokes. It's a new job, not a goodbye.
Thank you for every coffee run, every rescue and every 'have you got five minutes?' that took an hour. Your new lot don't deserve you.
What to write when you barely knew them
The hardest one. Short, kind and true will do.
We didn't get to work together much, but you were always friendly when we did. Wishing you all the best.
Good luck with whatever comes next. I hope it is everything you want it to be.
I only ever heard good things about you. All the very best for the future.
Thank you for always saying good morning. It gets noticed. Best of luck.
Wishing you well in the new job. I'm sorry we didn't get more of a chance to work together.
Leaving card messages for your boss
A thank you for one thing they taught you goes a long way.
You pushed me, trusted me and then left me to get on with it. I'm better at my job because of you. Thank you, and good luck.
You made this a good place to work, which is harder than it looks. Thank you, and all the best in the new role.
I'll remember what you taught me long after I've forgotten what the project was. Thank you for everything.
Whoever gets you next has done very well for themselves. Thank you for being a boss people wanted to work for.
Thank you for your time, your straight answers and your open door. You'll be a hard act to follow. Best of luck.
For someone on your team, from their manager
Say what they brought to the team, and that the door stays open.
You have made my job easier every week you've been here. Thank you for your hard work, your good sense and your good humour. I'd have you back tomorrow.
I knew within a month that we wouldn't keep you for ever. Go and do great things. I'll be telling people I knew you first.
You leave this team better than you found it, which is the best thing anyone can say of a colleague. Thank you for all of it, and good luck.
Sorry to lose you, proud to see you go. My door stays open, wherever your desk is.
Good luck in your new job messages
For a colleague moving on to something bigger.
Congratulations on the new job. You earned it fair and square, and they'll see why within a week.
New desk, new people, a new kettle to get the hang of. You'll have it all worked out by Friday. Good luck.
Good luck on your first day. Remember that they picked you, and they picked well.
A bigger job, and you are more than ready for it. Go and show them what we already know.
What to write when someone is made redundant
Kind and plain. No forced cheer and no silver linings.
I'm so sorry you're going, and sorrier about the way it has happened. You were very good at your job and it was a pleasure to work with you.
This wasn't your choice and it is no reflection on you. Anyone would be lucky to have you, and I'll say so to whoever asks.
Thank you for everything you did here. It mattered, and it was noticed. I'm thinking of you, and I'd love to stay in touch.
It's a rotten thing to happen to a good person. If a reference, a second pair of eyes on a CV or a coffee would help, just say.
I'll miss working with you. You made a real difference to this team, and that doesn't stop being true because the job has gone.
Maternity and paternity leave messages
They are coming back, so wish them well and keep it light.
Enjoy every minute of your leave. We'll manage, more or less, and we'd love a photo when the baby arrives.
Wishing you all the best for the weeks ahead. Put your feet up while you can, and leave everything here to us.
Good luck with the new arrival. We'll miss you, but you have far more important work to do for a while.
Off you go, and take your time. The spreadsheets will still be here when you get back, and nobody will have tidied them.
For a colleague moving away or emigrating
Good luck for the move, and a reason to keep in touch.
Good luck with the move. New house, new town, same you. They're getting a good one.
The other side of the world is a long way to go to get out of the tea round. We'll miss you. Send pictures of the weather.
It takes nerve to pack up and start again somewhere new, and you have always had plenty. Good luck with every bit of it.
Wherever you end up, there's a brew and a spare room here whenever you're back. Keep in touch, and mind the time difference when you ring.
For a teacher or classroom assistant leaving a school
From parents, from the class or from the staff room.
Thank you for everything you have done for our class. You knew every child's favourite book and every child's bad day. You'll be missed in every corridor.
The children will miss you, the staff room will miss you, and the Christmas play will never be the same. Good luck at your new school.
You were the calm in a room of thirty. The children learned more from you than they realise, and so did the grown-ups. Thank you.
From one end of the staff room to the other: thank you, good luck, and please leave the good scissors behind.
Funny leaving card messages
Office jokes everyone can enjoy, for someone leaving on a happy note.
Who is going to fix the printer now? None of us ever watched how you did it. Good luck. You'll be missed for all the wrong reasons as well as the right ones.
Nobody else knows who has sugar, who has oat milk and who likes it so strong the spoon stands up. The kettle will never be the same. Good luck.
The fridge will miss you. Particularly whatever that is at the back with your name on it.
We'll think of you every time somebody hits reply-all. Good luck in the new job.
The biscuit tin will last twice as long without you, and we'll enjoy it half as much. Come back and visit.
Please hand back your swipe card, your stapler and the good chair you have been hiding since the office move.
Heartfelt leaving messages
For a card of your own, when a line in the group card isn't enough.
You were kind to me when I was new, and I have tried to pass it on ever since. Thank you. I hope the next place knows what it's getting.
I can't picture this place without you in it, and I'm not looking forward to finding out. Thank you for being a good colleague and a better friend.
You never made a fuss, never took the credit and always stayed until it was done. People like you are rare. Go well.
It's the small things I'll miss: the good mornings, the shared biscuits, the look across the desk when a meeting ran on. Thank you for all of them.
What to leave out
- "Everything happens for a reason" or "it's probably for the best" to someone who has been made redundant.
- In-jokes only two people will understand, in a card the whole office will read.
- Digs at the company or the management: the card is passed round and may be read out.
- "Don't forget to come back" to someone going on maternity or paternity leave.
- The same line as the person above you.
Questions people ask
What do you write in a leaving card for a colleague?
A thank you for one specific thing and a good wish for what comes next. In a group card that is one line. In a card of your own, two or three sentences.
What do you write in a leaving card for someone you barely know?
"All the best for the future" or "good luck with whatever comes next" is fine and nobody will think it cold. Add one true thing if you have one, such as that they were always friendly.
How long should a leaving card message be?
One line in a card that is going round the office, so there is room for everyone. If you were close, write your line in the group card and give them a card of your own as well.
What do you write when someone has been made redundant?
Say you are sorry they are going, that they were good at their job and that you would like to keep in touch. Offer a reference or an introduction if you can. Leave out jokes and anything about fresh starts.
Is it all right to be funny in a leaving card?
Yes, when they are leaving happily and the joke is one the whole office can read: the printer, the fridge, the tea round. Keep it affectionate, and leave it out if they didn't choose to go.
How do you sign a leaving card?
Your first name is enough when everyone knows you. Add your team or the first letter of your surname if there is more than one of you, so they can tell which one wished them well.