It's my last day at work and I want to send a goodbye email to my coworkers that doesn't sound like a template.

When to send it, who gets it, and the subject line

Most people send the goodbye on their last day, late morning or after lunch. Sent at 5:55 pm, the replies arrive after your account is closed. Sent a week early, it starts a week of goodbyes in the hallway. If your last day is a Friday before a holiday, the day before is fine.

Who gets which email:

- The team you worked with every day: one group email, a little warmer. - The wider department or office: a shorter version, or none if your manager's announcement covered it. - Two or three people who made a real difference: a separate personal note each, two or three sentences long, never copied into the group email. - Clients or partners: only after your manager agrees, and with the name of the person taking over.

Subject lines that get opened and say what they are:

- “Last day at Halden, and thank you” - “Signing off on Friday” - “Moving on, and how to reach me”

Avoid “Goodbye” on its own, which can look alarming in a crowded inbox, and avoid jokes that only make sense once the email is open.

Example: last-day email to the team, 111 words

Subject: Last day at Halden, and thank you

Hi all,

Today is my last day at Halden. After four years on support, I'm moving to a product role at another company.

A few thank-yous I didn't want to leave unsaid. Rosa, you trained me in my first month and somehow never sighed at my questions. The night shift crew, the February outage was the longest night of my working life and the best team I've seen. Ken, thank you for covering my calls when my son was born.

I'll miss the Monday queue jokes more than the Monday queue.

If you want to stay in touch, I'm at sam.ortiz.work@example.com and on LinkedIn.

Thank you for four good years.

Sam

Three named thanks, one small joke, one way to reach Sam. Nothing about why Sam is leaving beyond the new role.

Versions for other kinds of goodbye

Retiring, about 60 words:

“After 31 years at Gardner, Friday is my last day. I started in the mailroom when we still had one, and I've spent the years since learning from people in this email. Thank you for the patience, the birthday cakes and the arguments about the thermostat. I'll be at the lake most days, and at linda.p@example.com the rest.”

A short one to a big list, about 40 words:

“Today is my last day. Thank you to everyone who answered a question, joined a project or shared a coffee with me in the last two years. You can reach me at [email] or on LinkedIn. All the best.”

To one close colleague, a personal note:

“Maya, I'm not putting this in the group email because it's just for you: you made the hard months bearable, and I learned more from your code reviews than from any course. Lunch in December, my treat.”

Whatever the version, keep the reason for leaving to one neutral line or none at all.

What to leave out, and what the Email format does

Cut these before you send:

- Complaints, even gentle ones about management, pay or the reorganization. The email will be forwarded. - The name of your new employer if it is a competitor and you haven't checked with your manager. - A list of every person in the office. Three specific thanks read as more sincere than thirty names. - Inside jokes most readers won't get. - Your handover notes. Send those separately to the people who need them.

The Thank-you type in the Email format is told to say specifically what you're thanking people for and to keep it short and sincere, and Friendly tone lets a small joke through. Short is 50 to 120 words, which is the right length for a goodbye most people will read on a phone. The subject comes first, kept to about 50 characters, and if you switch on Subject line ideas you get three alternatives to pick from.

It won't invent a memory you didn't give it, so the thank-yous are only as good as your notes: names and moments make the email.