Goodbye Emails to Coworkers: How to Write & Samples

goodbye email to coworkers sample
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People leave jobs for all sorts of reasons. You may have found a new position or are resigning because of a bad fit at your current workplace. Perhaps your role was temporary, or your company has been experiencing layoffs.

Maybe you’re taking time to focus on your health or family. Whatever your reasons, you may want to send a proper farewell email to your colleagues, boss, and friends. 

Saying goodbye is hard enough and writing a professional and heartfelt farewell email to coworkers is even more challenging. 

Even in a situation where you are eager to move on to the next phase of your life, you might find it hard or emotional to send a farewell email to your coworkers. It’s likely you have developed a routine, and you made some personal connections at your workplace, so moving on will be hard.

Writing a goodbye email to coworkers can help achieve some closure, sum up your positive experiences, and leave a good impression.

In this article, we've put together a detailed guide on how to write a professional and genuine farewell letter to coworkers with samples for so you can end your career on a positive note.

Why Should You Write Farewell Emails to Coworkers?

Whether you are leaving reluctantly or eagerly, sending an email to say goodbye to your coworkers is the best practice for several reasons. It’s kinder to tell those closest to you in person first that you are leaving, as an email alone might be shocking and impersonal. But a farewell email to your coworkers can provide more closure and benefit you long term. 

📍 A goodbye letter to coworkers will help you maintain your network.

Writing a heartfelt goodbye letter to your coworkers or staff will keep your network intact. A polite, warm email to say goodbye to your coworkers will leave a good impression at your workplace, and leave you open to connecting with those people outside of work.

You never know how people you work with today can impact you tomorrow and writing a goodbye email to those coworkers will maintain your good network connections.

📍 Sending goodbye emails to coworkers shows good etiquette. 

A polite and friendly goodbye email to your coworkers really goes a long way to demonstrate your professionalism. Whether you’ve been working there for a short or long time, your coworkers and staff became accustomed to your presence, and might be surprised or jaded if you left without a proper goodbye.

A heartfelt goodbye letter to your coworkers is a decent way to end your time at this company and reflects well on you as a person. 

📍 A goodbye letter to coworkers helps build your personal brand. 

Writing a goodbye email to coworkers when you leave a job can give people a good impression of you, and overtime, these types of positive professional interactions can help you build your brand. If you always leave jobs without looking back, you’ll create a negative impression.

Some ways to build your brand include being positive, consistent, and genuine. A kind and heartfelt goodbye letter to your coworkers can help you achieve this consistency with your image. 

Whatever your reason for leaving the job, a farewell email to your coworkers is a wonderful way to leave a positive impression at your workplace, show good etiquette, and keep your network intact. 

Tips for Writing Goodbye Emails to Coworkers

A well-written, professional farewell email to your coworkers can be a challenge as it's difficult to find the right words and tone to convey your message.

📝 Pick the right time.

You need to send your goodbye emails to coworkers at the right time. Avoid sending a goodbye email too far in advance of your departure. Your co-workers are bound to approach you with questions about your decision, which could end up distracting you from work in your final days.  

Sending an email to coworkers at the end of your last day is also not the best approach, since it can seem abrupt or cold. It's therefore best to send off an email to colleagues a day or two before you leave.  

📝 Decide who will get your email.

When crafting your last day email to coworkers, decide which of your colleagues should get one.

Should it be just the people in your department? Your direct superiors or subordinates? The people closest to you?

If the staff is small, you might decide the email should go to everyone, but obviously, with a larger staff, a farewell email to coworkers you’ve never met is pointless. A good suggestion is to send your goodbye email to the coworkers you interact with most, or with whom you want to keep network connections. 

📝 Write a direct subject line.

When writing a goodbye email to coworkers, the subject line should be clear and simple.

People receive many emails throughout the day, so a few straightforward words will catch their attention. In your farewell emails to coworkers, example subject lines include: 

  • Saying goodbye
  • Thank you for everything
  • Moving on
  • Last day

📝 Tailor your goodbye emails to coworkers.

While it's fine to send one simple goodbye letter to all your coworkers, it’s likely there are a few people you had a closer connection with and might want to write something more personal.

Decide if you will send your boss or manager a separate email, or a more heartfelt goodbye letter to coworkers you are close to. 

📝 Leave your contact information.

This is important if you want to maintain your network connections. After you email to say goodbye to your coworkers, invite people to contact you or stay in touch and leave a phone number, LinkedIn account, or personal email.

Including your information at the end of your goodbye email to coworkers leaves the door open for future contact with people in your network, and you never know if they may lead to a job connection later. 

📝 Keep it positive.

A farewell email to coworkers is the worst time to air your dirty laundry and grievances about the company.

It's unprofessional and it makes people uncomfortable. Even if you’re leaving under less-than-ideal circumstances, you should keep the tone of your goodbye email to coworkers light and positive. 

📝 Show gratitude.

When you’re writing a goodbye email to your coworkers, it’s always best to lead with gratitude and express thanks to the people you worked with. Even in terrible circumstances, it's likely you learned something valuable or made a positive connection.

Allude to that in the farewell email to your coworkers and give thanks for any support you received. 

📝 Keep it brief.

Like any workplace email, short and to the point is better than long and drawn out. When writing a goodbye email to coworkers, let everyone know you’re leaving and grateful for the experience without adding too much extraneous detail or emotion.

Try to avoid writing too much about your next job or personal circumstances. 

Sample Farewell Emails to Colleagues

You might end up writing several different goodbye emails to coworkers. Some people will receive a more generic email while you will likely craft a more personal email for your manager or boss. Here are some sample goodbye emails to different coworkers.

✉️ Sample goodbye email to all co-workers

If you’ve decided to send out a broad goodbye email to your coworkers, you want to include gratitude for their impact on you and the work environment or refer to goals you’ve accomplished as a team. Let them know that you will miss collaborating with them, and they can of course keep in touch. Make sure the tone of your farewell email to coworkers is light and positive. 

Subject line: Moving On

Hi Everyone, 

Though I’m sure many of you have already heard, I’ve accepted another opportunity and my last day at Work Well will be tomorrow. 

Although I’m excited about this new chapter, my time here was really meaningful, and I will miss working with you all. I can’t believe how far we’ve come this year, and it’s been a privilege to be part of such a diligent team. Your support during the last few years has meant a lot to me, and I wanted to say thank you. 

If you have any questions about the transition, please reach out, as I’m happy to provide assistance. 

Feel free to stay in touch. You can reach me at my personal email [email protected], or on my LinkedIn account. 

Thank you again, and I wish you all the best!
Jan 

✉️ Sample goodbye email to coworkers who are friends

If you’ve decided to send a goodbye email only to coworkers you are closest to, this email should be more personal and tailored to specific people. If you are close colleagues, you’ve likely already told them in person that you are leaving, but a goodbye letter to these coworkers can nonetheless be kind and meaningful. Let them know what it was like working with them, and how they personally impacted you. Writing goodbye emails to these coworkers can even be funny and more relaxed. 

Subject Line: My Last Day

Hi Kaylee, 

As you know, tomorrow is my last day at Work Well. I can’t believe how quickly the time went!

I wanted to reach out and say thank you before I left. I couldn’t have gotten through the hard days without your help and good humour, and I’m so glad we were able to connect. I’m grateful for all your support and kindness, and I’m definitely going to miss our lunch dates!

I hope we can keep in touch going forward. Text anytime!

Thanks again, 
Jan

✉️ Sample goodbye email to your manager

Though you’ve sent goodbye emails to all your coworkers, you may want to send something more specific and personal to your supervisor, boss, or manager. Like writing a goodbye email to coworkers, you should thank your boss and tell them how you’ve appreciated working with them. You can also be more personal and tell them how their guidance specifically helped you. 

Subject Line: Thank you

Dear Mrs. Duple, 

As you know, my last day at Work Well is tomorrow. 

Although I’m excited for this next step in my career, I’ve really enjoyed my role at Work Well, and I wanted to reach out to you personally. I’ve learned a lot from you these last few years, and I’ve always appreciated your support and your candor. My time here has really helped me grow and I couldn’t have accomplished so much without your leadership. 

If there is anything more I can do to make this transition easier, let me know. And please feel free to stay in touch! You can reach me at my personal email, [email protected].

Thank you again and good luck with your new candidate. 

Best, 
Jan

🔑 Key Takeaways:

It can be hard to draft the perfect farewell email to your coworkers. Decide in advance who you will send an email to, and tailor emails to specific colleagues and managers. Make sure your goodbye emails to coworkers are positive, grateful, and short. Writing a heartfelt goodbye letter to your coworkers shows good etiquette and helps you maintain your network.

Don’t forget to be clear and direct with your subject line and leave your contact information. It’s never easy to say goodbye but writing a goodbye letter to your coworkers will leave a good impression and help you move on to your next step.  

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--- Originally written by Tiffany Quinn ---

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