A leaving gift for a colleague
Leaving gifts for colleagues work when they honour the transition without overstating it. Typical price range: €5 to €20 per head in a team pool, totalling €50 to €200. What lands: a good notebook for the new role, a restaurant voucher, a signed album with photos and notes, a plant for the new desk. Avoid: alcohol when preferences are unclear, very personal grooming products, inside-joke gifts only understood by the office.
A leaving gift at work lives in the band between "friendly" and "awkwardly personal" - and the team gesture usually matters more than any individual one. Tell us briefly what the person does, where they're heading (new job, sabbatical, retirement) and whether the team is pooling - we'll suggest five things that honour the transition without overstating.
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Describe the person in your own words. We will suggest five thoughtful, un-clichéd ideas.
Frequently asked
- What do you give a colleague who's leaving?
- Something that marks the transition without inflating it - a good notebook for the new role, a restaurant voucher, a signed album of photos and notes from the team, a plant or cutting for the new desk.
- How much does each person contribute to a pooled gift?
- For a pooled team gift in German-speaking countries, €5–€20 per head, depending on team size and closeness. Close colleagues often add a small separate gesture on top.
- What doesn't work in an office?
- Alcohol, if it's unclear whether the person drinks. Very personal grooming products. Inside-joke gifts - if the team unwraps them at a farewell with family present and the family laughs blankly, it was the wrong gift.
- What if the person is leaving on bad terms?
- Then honesty beats theatre. A short, warm card and a chosen restaurant voucher say more than a team album with fifteen signatures, half of which were awkward yesterday.
- When does it make sense to add a personal gesture on top of the team gift?
- When the person was a key colleague over years, specifically supported you, or became a friend. A separate card with a specific memory, plus a small token (a book, a meeting outside work) is enough. The team gift represents the role; the personal gesture represents the relationship.
- What do you give a boss who is leaving?
- More carefully than with peers - anything that looks like sucking up is awkward, anything that looks like sarcasm even more so. Classic: a book signed by the team, a framed image from a milestone moment, a restaurant voucher. Avoid personal in-jokes that might read differently later when re-read.