Writing to coworkers
Messages for your coworker: 72 examples across 12 occasions
A colleague message has a constraint the others do not: it will probably be read in front of other people, and it has to survive being read by someone it was not written for.
That rules out anything too personal, but it does not require blandness. The distinguishing move is specificity about work - a habit, a strength, a moment they handled well - which is both appropriate and rare.
Most colleague cards say nothing that could not be said to any colleague. Naming one true professional detail is the entire difference.
Pick the occasion
step 01 · nine templates
Every occasion, written for your coworker
The details worth reaching for
Whatever the occasion, these are the specifics that make a message to your coworker sound like it came from someone who was actually paying attention.
- A specific thing they are the reliable person for
- How they behaved during a genuinely bad week at work
- A habit that quietly makes everyone else's job easier
- Something they taught you without being asked
- How they treat people more junior than them
- The meeting or project where they were noticeably good
- A standard they hold that others have started copying
- The thing they do that nobody has ever thanked them for
Every stop holds a moment
the path they walk
What goes wrong when people write to coworkers
Writing something that fits anyone in the building
"Great to work with" is a placeholder. One concrete professional observation makes the card worth keeping.
Crossing into personal territory
Comments on appearance, home life or relationship status read differently in a workplace card, especially one passed around an office.
Making it about your working relationship only
If the card is entirely about how they help you, it becomes a note about your own convenience. Name something true about them independent of you.
Openings and sign-offs that fit this relationship
Ways to open
- “Working with you has been…”
- “You are the person everyone goes to when…”
- “I have watched you handle…”
- “The team does not say this enough…”
- “Something people here rely on…”
Ways to close
- “Glad you are on this team”
- “Enjoy the day - you have earned it”
- “Genuinely appreciate you”
- “Here is to another year”
- “Thanks for everything you do”
Common questions
- What should you write to your coworker?
- A colleague message has a constraint the others do not: it will probably be read in front of other people, and it has to survive being read by someone it was not written for.. The message that lands names one specific thing rather than summarising the relationship.
- What should you avoid writing to your coworker?
- Writing something that fits anyone in the building. "Great to work with" is a placeholder. One concrete professional observation makes the card worth keeping.
- How do you make a message to your coworker sound personal?
- Replace one general phrase with something only you would know - a specific thing they are the reliable person for, for instance. That single substitution is what separates a borrowed message from one that sounds like you.
Make it something your coworker opens
The same details, turned into a private interactive world. Free to build and preview.