How Do You Say Goodbye to a Coworker?

How Do You Say Goodbye to a Coworker?

In today's Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about saying goodbye. Our reader, Hideki, works¹ at a high school in Japan with many international coworkers. She writes:

Question:

"After having a short conversation with them … there are many times l come up with nothing to say at the end of the conversation." Hideki notes that she will see her coworkers later in the day at times, as in the first two examples below.

Here are the times when Hideki wants to say goodbye:

When leaving a coworker in the morning

When leaving a coworker in the middle of the day

When leaving a coworker as you exit the workplace² for the day

Answer: Dear Hideki, I lived in Japan, so I understand why you have this question. In your language, there are specific³ expressions people always use for such times. In English, though, there are several different things we can say when leaving someone. You guessed at some of them in your email:

You said, "Maybe I should have said, 'Have a good one,' 'Nice talking to you,' or 'Enjoy your time off.'"

Situation 1

Let's look at situation 1: You are leaving a coworker, but you will see him or her at lunch time.

In a school, someone may say to a teacher, "Have a good class," or "See you after class." If you are not speaking to a teacher, you can say, “See you at lunch,” “See you a little later,” or simply, “Later.”

Situation 2

In situation 2, you had lunch with a coworker and are leaving for the afternoon. Now you can say, “Have a good afternoon.” You can also say “Have a good one.” That is the same as telling someone to have a good day, afternoon or evening.

Situation 3

Let’s look at situation 3, where you are leaving for the evening or weekend. On Fridays, you can always say, “Have a good weekend.” On any other workday⁴, you can say, “Good night” or “See you tomorrow.”

There is one more time when you may want to say something. When you leave a meeting, you can say to others, "See you later."

Your suggestion, "Nice talking to you" is more common when you don’t talk to someone every day. If you called a friend, for example, whom you have not seen for months, this would be a good way to close the conversation.

"Enjoy your time off" is something we often say to people who are taking days off from work for vacation. This would not be said every day.

And, finally, in any work situation, you can also just say, “Bye!”

And that’s ask a teacher!

I’m Jill Robbins. See you later!

Words in This Story

coworker - n. a person who works at the place where you work; someone you work with

exit - v. to go out of a place or situation?

specific - adj.relating to a particular individual or situation?

conversation – n. an informal⁵ talk involving two people or a small group of people

guess - v. to suppose or think

1 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

2 workplace   

n.工作面(工作位置，车间，工厂)

参考例句：

• A workplace where ships are built or repaired.制造和修理船的工厂。
• Training can make people get along in the workplace.培训能让人们在工作场所和睦相处。

3 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

4 workday   

n.工作日；上班时间

参考例句：

• Today is my workday.今天是我的工作日。
• I all will walk 25 miles in every morning of workday.每个工作日的早晨我都要步行2.5英里。

5 informal   

adj.非正式的，不拘礼的，通俗的

参考例句：

• I got an informal reception.我受到了非正式接待。
• The leaders met over informal lunches.领袖们在非正式午餐时进行会晤。