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.
Concrete gift ideas
A good notebook for the new job
A high-quality, plain notebook accompanies the fresh start without getting too personal. The safe gift when you only know the person from the office.
View on AmazonA restaurant voucher
A chosen voucher for a good place works even without private closeness - and says more than an anonymous envelope. Ideal from the team collection.
A jointly signed album with photos and notes
The team gesture that counts: collected snapshots and a few honest lines from everyone. A gift that captures the time in the team.
View on AmazonA seedling or a plant for the new office
A living greeting for the new desk - small, low-maintenance, and a friendly piece of continuity through the move.
A good coffee or tea selection
Quality beans or a sorted tea box: a consumable that embarrasses no one and brings daily pleasure at the new office.
View on AmazonA high-quality writing instrument
A good pen or fountain pen for the new chapter - plain, neutral, useful. Works for almost any person and any next step.
View on AmazonA book that suits the next step
Sabbatical, new job, retirement? A well-chosen book for the particular transition shows someone thought along.
Your own card with a concrete memory
In addition to the team gift: a few personal lines about a particular moment. The team gift stands for the position, your card for the relationship.
A shared lunch or after-work drink as a send-off
Sometimes the best gesture isn't an object: an invitation to see out the last day together - the memory outlasts any keepsake.
Nothing quite right? Describe the person — we'll think along ↓
A gift finder, considered
Considered gifts, found in a minute.
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.