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· TeamRally · 5 min read

Goodbye Message to Coworkers When You're Leaving (Email, Slack + 25 Examples)

How to write your own farewell message to colleagues when you are leaving the company — last-day email templates, a short Slack version, and 25 examples that stay warm, brief, and bridge-friendly.

Most farewell advice is about writing for someone who’s leaving. This one’s the other side: it’s your last day, and you want to say goodbye to your coworkers without sounding like a form letter or an overshare. Here’s how to write your own farewell message — the email, the Slack version, and 25 examples you can adapt — that leaves the door open and the bridge intact.

What a good goodbye message does

Your farewell message is the last thing a whole company remembers you by, so it’s worth five minutes. The good ones do four things:

  • Thank people — sincerely, not corporately.
  • Name something specific you valued (a team, a project, a person or two).
  • Keep the “why” light — “new opportunity,” “next chapter,” done. No grievances, no play-by-play.
  • Leave a way to stay in touch — a personal email or LinkedIn. This is the whole point of not burning bridges.

Keep it short. A few warm sentences beats a farewell essay every time.

The last-day farewell email (template)

Subject: Thank you & goodbye

Hi all,

Today’s my last day at [Company]. Before I go, I wanted to say thank you — working with this team has been one of the best parts of my [X years] here. I’m especially grateful to [team/people] for [specific thing].

I’m moving on to [new role / a new opportunity], but I’d love to stay in touch. You can reach me at [personal email] or on [LinkedIn].

Take care of each other, and keep [inside reference / team value] going. It’s been a genuine pleasure.

— [Name]

Swap the specifics and it works for almost any exit. Send it on your last day, a few hours before you sign off.

The short Slack / Teams version

Not every goodbye needs an email. For a channel:

Today’s my last day! 👋 Thank you all for making this such a good place to work — I’ve learned a ton and laughed even more. Keeping in touch: [email] / LinkedIn. Don’t be strangers.

25 goodbye messages to adapt

Warm and sincere

  1. Thank you for [X] great years. I’m leaving with a full notebook and a lot of gratitude. Let’s stay in touch.
  2. It’s my last day, and I mostly just want to say: working with you all was the good part. Thank you.
  3. I got to spend my days with smart, kind people who made hard things fun. Not everyone gets that. Thank you.
  4. Leaving is bittersweet — heavy on the sweet, because of who I got to work with. Keep in touch: [email].
  5. Thank you for every bit of patience, mentorship, and coffee-line conversation. I’ll miss this team.

Short and easy

  1. Last day! Thank you for everything — it’s been a pleasure. Reach me at [email].
  2. Signing off for the last time here. Grateful for all of you. Let’s stay connected.
  3. It’s been great, [team]. Onward — but not out of touch. 👋
  4. Thank you, goodbye, and see you on LinkedIn.
  5. So long, and thanks for making the 9-to-5 genuinely good.

To your immediate team

  1. You four made this job. I’m going to miss the standups, the side chats, all of it. Don’t let the docs rot.
  2. I’m handing off the work but keeping the friendships. Text me. Seriously.
  3. Best team I’ve had. That’s not a farewell-email exaggeration — it’s just true. Thank you.
  4. Whatever I did well here, I did it because of you. Grateful, and only a message away.
  5. Take care of [project/product] — and of each other. I’ll be cheering from the outside.

Light on the “why”

  1. Off to a new chapter, but this one was a good read. Thank you all.
  2. New opportunity calling — but I’m leaving richer for having worked here. Stay in touch.
  3. Time for my next thing. Thank you for making this thing so worth it.
  4. Moving on, not moving away — you’ve got my email and I actually check it.
  5. Closing this chapter with a lot of gratitude and zero regrets about the people. 👋

With a little humor

  1. My last day! Please water the plant I’ve been quietly keeping alive since 2023.
  2. Leaving before the next reorg — some people have all the luck. Thank you for everything, truly.
  3. I’m off to bother a different Slack workspace. Keep in touch so I can bother you too.
  4. Handover doc: done. Emotional handover: impossible. Thank you, team.
  5. Goodbye! I’ll miss you all — and the good coffee, in roughly that order.

What to avoid

  • Venting. However you feel about the exit, the farewell message isn’t the place. It follows you.
  • Over-explaining why you’re leaving. “New opportunity” is a complete sentence.
  • Making it all about the negatives of the new-vs-old. Stay gracious.
  • Forgetting the “reach me here.” A goodbye with no forwarding address is a missed connection.

Frequently asked questions

What should I write in a goodbye message to coworkers? Thank them, name one or two things you valued, keep the reason light, and share a way to stay in touch. Short and warm.

When should I send my farewell email? On your last day, a few hours before you log off — late morning or early afternoon.

Should I say why I’m leaving? Only in the lightest terms. “New opportunity” or “next chapter” is plenty.

On the other side of the card?

If you’re the one staying and need to sign a card for someone else who’s leaving, start here: 90+ farewell messages for a coworker and what to write in a leaving card. And when the team wants to send you off properly, a free group farewell card collects everyone’s goodbyes into one keepsake — everyone signs by email invite, and it’s delivered as an animated card you keep.