FLOWER STORIESFlower Stories
Farewell Flowers for a Colleague Who Is Leaving
A size they can carry home, and a card that ends on encouragement
A size they can carry home, and a card that ends on encouragement
You've just heard a colleague's last day has been set, and flowers come to mind. The next questions are usually what size to get and what to write on the card. Too big and they become one more thing to carry. Too small and you worry it looks like you didn't put much thought into it.
Flower meanings and popular arrangements are covered in plenty of places already. This post looks at something else: the few hours after your colleague receives the flowers, and the weeks after that.
On the last day at work, people already have their hands full. Many take the subway home carrying two or three shopping bags with their mug and whatever was in their desk drawers.
So farewell flowers should be small enough to hold in one hand. A small bouquet in firm wrapping holds up better when it's resting on top of other bags. If you choose a flower basket, pick one with a handle so it's easier to carry.
Skip vases filled with water and heavy potted plants. They tend to be gifts your colleague is grateful for but has no easy way to get home.
If your colleague will have a lot to carry, you can hand over just the card at the office and have the flowers delivered to their home that evening. Same-day delivery is available for orders placed by 5 p.m., and deliveries are made between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
| Option | Suitable size | When to give | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| In person at the office | One-hand bouquet | Afternoon of the last day | Whether they can carry it along with everything else |
| Delivered to their home | Small flower basket | Evening of the last day | Home address and a time they'll be in |
| Delivered to the new workplace | Small bouquet | After their first week | The new company's culture and whether they'd want it |
| When you hear how they're doing | Small bouquet | The same week you hear the news | One line on what you're congratulating them for |
When several people each add a line to a team card, the same message often appears again and again. A column of “thanks for all your hard work” is actually harder to read.
A cleaner approach is one sentence from the whole team, with everyone's names listed underneath. One person can draft the sentence and share it once in the team group chat (단톡방, a group chat on a messaging app) for a quick look. That's enough.
Listing each person's name reads as warmer than signing it “from all of the ○○ Team” (○○팀 일동, the standard formal sign-off for a group). If the team is large, signing with the team name is more natural, and anyone with something personal to say can tell your colleague separately.
A handwritten card also carries weight. If you can't write it yourself, you can decide on the wording and have it handwritten for you. After delivery you'll receive an unedited photo of the actual arrangement, so you can also check that the card was attached properly.
“Please don't go” and “we're so sad you're leaving” are sincere, but they leave the person who is going with something small to carry. They make your colleague second-guess a decision they have already made.
Working on everything we built together made us feel steady. You'll do just as well in your new role with that same instinct.
Mention one thing from your time together and finish by saying you believe in what comes next. A single specific moment, such as “Thank you for staying late with us during that project,” stays with someone longer than a long goodbye.
If your colleague has already left and you're sending flowers to the new workplace, it's easier for them after the first week than on day one. Congratulations feel less awkward once they've settled in. Enter a Korean phone number for the recipient so the driver can call when they arrive.
Farewell flowers aren't a way of closing the relationship. They're closer to saying, before any words, that you'll stay in touch even though you no longer work at the same company.
For flowers to send to their home or new workplace, see the Arrive in Bloom bouquet and flower basket pages.
Yes. They'll have a lot to carry on the way home, though, so a small bouquet they can hold in one hand works best. If they'll have a lot to carry that day, you can also send the flowers to their home.
Orders placed by 5 p.m. are delivered the same day. Orders placed after that are delivered the next day from 10 a.m. onward. Deliveries are made between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
You need to enter a Korean mobile number. The driver calls that number on arrival.
Tell us the message and we'll handwrite it for you. Once the delivery is complete, we send you an unedited photo of the actual arrangement.
Choose a bouquet or flower basket small enough to carry home. You can send it to the office, their home, or their new workplace.
Published October 22, 2026 · by Arrive in Bloom · Flower Editor
