What to give a coworker who is leaving

The best leaving gift fits in a bag on the train home. That is the whole rule. Everything else follows from it.

Your colleague is about to carry a mug, a plant, a charger and their dignity out of the building. Do not add a lamp.

Pool the money, not the effort

One group gift beats six small ones. Set a modest amount per person, say it is optional, and let people give nothing without anyone noticing. Use whatever your team already uses for collections. If nobody knows who should organize it, it is usually the person who sits closest to the leaver.

Safe, bold or skip

Safe. A good consumable (coffee, tea, chocolate), a voucher for a place near their new home or job, or a quality notebook. Easy to carry, easy to use.

Bold. One thing tied to a running joke on the team, only if the whole team shares the joke and the leaver will laugh too. If in doubt, drop it.

Skip. Anything with the company logo, anything fragile, anything that hints at the reason they are leaving. Skip alcohol unless you know they drink and your workplace allows it.

The card matters more than the gift

People keep cards. Pass it around early, not at the end of the last day. Ask each person for one specific line, such as the day this person saved a deadline, not "good luck". A card full of real details is the part they reread.

Remote or far away

Send a voucher or a delivered gift, and collect messages in a shared document you print or email as one file. ## If you barely worked with them

Sign the card and add a short note. You do not need to put in money to be kind. For a wider approach to choosing, see how to pick a gift for someone you barely know.