About Farewell
A farewell marks the day someone leaves: a job, a team, a city, a hostel, a house they rented for nine years. In India these departures are constant, and most of them are marked by a card that goes round the office and comes back covered in the same three words. This page is about writing the two lines that actually get reread.
The card goes round the floor in a brown envelope. Twenty-two people sign it. Nineteen of them write "All the best 😊". The person takes it home, reads it once, and finds that four years have been summed up by a smiley face.
This is fixable in two lines, and the two lines are always the same shape: one thing you remember, then one thing you are wishing for.
Why does everyone write "All the best" on a farewell card?
The reason everyone writes "All the best" on a farewell card is that the card arrives with no warning, there is a queue behind you, and you cannot remember anything specific under pressure. So do the remembering before you pick up the pen.
- Think of one concrete moment, not a qualityNot "you were always helpful". Rather: "you stayed back on the 14th when the reconciliation broke and never once mentioned it afterwards."
- Write that moment in one sentenceSpecific beats generous. A small true thing outlasts a large vague one.
- Add what you are wishing for, narrowly"A manager who notices your work" or "a flat with good light" instead of "success and happiness".
- Sign with your full name and your teamSix months later they will not place "Rahul" among the four Rahuls they worked with.
- If you barely knew them, say so and stay warm"We overlapped for two months and you were the only person who replied to my mails the same day. Best wishes." Honest distance reads better than invented closeness.
The word "farewell" itself is worth a thought. In English it is formal and slightly old, the register of speeches and funerals rather than of a Tuesday afternoon. In Indian offices and schools it has become the ordinary word for the event, which is fine, but on the card itself "all the best for what's next" sounds warmer than "farewell".
How should a farewell message change with the reason someone is leaving?
A farewell message should carry something different for each reason someone leaves: congratulations for a better job, acknowledgement for a transfer they did not choose, and warmth with a concrete offer for a layoff.
| Why they are going | What the message should carry | What to leave out |
|---|---|---|
| A better job | Straight congratulations, and one line on what they were good at here | "Don't forget us", which puts you in their message |
| A transfer they did not choose | Acknowledgement, not cheer. Say the team is losing something | "Everything happens for a reason" |
| Redundancy or a layoff | Warmth, a concrete offer, and no celebration at all | Exclamation marks, "new beginnings", anything about opportunity |
| Leaving to care for a parent | One sentence saying you understand, then a real offer | Questions about when they might come back |
| Moving cities or countries | Something small and practical about the new place | Warnings about the rent, the weather or the people |
| Retirement | What they built, and mornings that are finally theirs | Jokes about being bored or idle |
| Hostel or college | The specific room, the specific 2am | "Stay in touch", unless you send the first message |
| Someone who reported to you | One sentence you would be willing to put in a reference | Feedback. The last day is not the day |
The layoff case is the one people get wrong most often. A card signed by the whole floor with "congratulations on the next chapter" is painful to receive when the next chapter has not been written yet. Drop the chapter. Write that you were glad to work with them, name one thing they did well, and offer something specific you will actually do: an introduction, a reference, a review of their CV this week.
Why are farewells so common in Indian working life?
Farewells are a constant in Indian working life for a structural reason: people move between states and districts in very large numbers, mostly for work. The Economic Survey 2016-17's chapter on internal migration found an annual inter-state migration flow of close to nine million people from 2011 to 2016, estimated from railway passenger data, with an inter-state migrant population of roughly sixty million and inter-district migration as high as eighty million. Most of that movement is for work, and most of it is young.
So the colleague leaving Bengaluru for Pune, the cousin going to Dubai, the hostel emptying in May: these are not exceptions. They are the normal shape of an Indian working life, which is a good argument for getting better at saying goodbye rather than treating it as an awkward one-off.
One practical thing worth knowing if you are in the WhatsApp group organising the send-off. Under the Code on Wages, 2019, where an employee has resigned or been removed, retrenched or dismissed, the wages payable are to be paid within two working days. If someone is leaving under difficult circumstances and worrying about money, that is a more useful thing to tell them than "all the best".
Farewell messages you can send
Four years and I never once saw you take credit that wasn't yours. That's rarer than you think. Wishing you a team that notices. Keep my number.
You joined not knowing how to run a meeting and you now run the best ones on the floor. I'd say that to anyone who calls me for a reference, and I hope someone does.
This wasn't your call and it's a loss for us, so I'm not going to pretend otherwise. Nagpur is getting the best operations person I've worked with. Call me when you've landed.
I'm sorry, and I'm glad I got to work with you. Send me your CV this week and I'll pass it to three people who should see it. Not a formality, I'll actually do it.
Ten years of Thursday dinners and now a flight. Wishing you a neighbourhood you like walking in and one friend by Diwali. I'll visit before you've finished unpacking. ✈️
Room 214 was a disaster and the best two years I've had. Thank you for every 2am. Go and be brilliant, and answer your phone occasionally.
You taught me to write a short email, which has saved me more time than any degree. Thank you, sir. Wishing you a very good next innings.
First month is the hardest, so ring whenever. Wishing you a flat with light, a shop that knows your order, and a good reason to come home every year.
Best wishes, Shruti. You rewrote the onboarding doc and I still send it to every new joiner. Whoever gets you next has no idea what's arriving. — Anup, Payments team
Say what stays, not that you will stay in touch
"Let's keep in touch" is the second most common line on a farewell card and it is almost always untrue. Something concrete works better.
Name the thing that does not change: "I'm still going to send you every bad cricket take." Name a date: "Coming to Hyderabad in December, keeping a Saturday free." Or send the first message yourself, two weeks after they leave, when everyone else has gone quiet and the new place has stopped being exciting. That message counts for more than the card did.
The general rules for wishing people well are on best wishes messages. For what comes after the goodbye, see new job, retirement and miss you messages.
How to wish someone on Farewell
A farewell message works when it looks backwards before it looks forwards. Name one specific thing the person did or was like, then say what you are wishing for them next. Match the tone to the reason they are going, because a promotion, a transfer nobody wanted and a layoff need three different messages. Say clearly what stays between you rather than promising to keep in touch.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + regional language.
Frequently asked questions
What should I write on a farewell card instead of "All the best"?
Write one specific thing the person did that you noticed, then one narrow wish for what comes next. "You stayed back the night the reconciliation broke and never mentioned it again. Wishing you a team that notices that sort of thing." Two lines is enough.
What do you write in a farewell card for a colleague you barely know?
Be honest about the distance and stay warm. "We only overlapped a few months, but you were the one person who replied to mails the same day, which I never stopped appreciating. Best wishes." Invented closeness always reads worse than a short true sentence.
What should you not say in a farewell message?
Skip "don't forget us", which makes the message about you; skip "everything happens for a reason" to someone leaving against their will; and skip anything celebratory for someone who has been laid off. Avoid promising to stay in touch unless you intend to send the first message.
How do you write a farewell message for someone who has been laid off?
Leave out congratulations and new beginnings entirely. Say you were glad to work with them, name one thing they did well, and offer something concrete you will genuinely do, such as sending their CV to specific people or writing a reference this week.
What do you write for a boss or a senior leaving?
Name one thing you learned from them that you still use, and keep it specific rather than grand. "You taught me to write a three-line email and it has saved me hours every week. Thank you, and best wishes for what's next." Avoid flattery, which reads as obligation.
Is it better to give a card or send a message when someone leaves?
Give the card on the last day so they have something physical, and send a separate message two or three weeks later. The second one lands when the send-off has faded and the new place has stopped feeling new, which is when people actually reread what you wrote.
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