# Goodbye Emails at Work (kinda poll-ish) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185 "2007-04-30T17:35:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sofaspud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@Sofaspud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofaspud)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/1 "2007-04-30T17:35:12Z")
We’ve had several people jump ship lately where I’m at, and invariably each one has sent a company-wide email stating, in effect, “I’m leaving for a Better Place, so neener neener neener!” Well, maybe not as _directly_, but the subtext is clear. 🙂 At any rate, my question is this: does this happen in your workplace as well? Do your coworkers – or you, yourself – feel the need to let EVERYONE in the company know you’re leaving? Why? I sincerely do Not Get It. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/2 "2007-04-30T17:59:44Z")
I’ve gotten one or two and I suspect they ones I got were genuine. The people that left under the “neener, neener, neener” type circumstances usually went to lunch with a bunch of work friends and said bye to a few people and were never heard from again. It’s a fairly close knit company of around 70 people, if that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/3 "2007-04-30T18:00:56Z")
Well, depends on the size of the company, I suppose. When I left two relatively small web-development / ISP houses, I did send company-wide notes, but that was because I was on first-name terms with every single person at them, so it seemed appropriate. When I left SuperMegaCorp about a year ago, I sent my note to everyone that I was on first-name terms with, which was a tiny fraction of the company but still a lot of people. At my current job, which is also at a very large company, the people who have left have done the same thing (I assume – most BCC everyone). ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/4 "2007-04-30T19:08:17Z")
I left my job at a megacorp and only BCCed maybe 30 people on my farewell email. I wouldn’t send out an email to everyone unless I personally knew 75% of the people on the list. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/5 "2007-04-30T20:09:41Z")
I’d send an e-mail to co-workers who need to know – if my departure has an impact on their workload. Friends, I’d tell personally. I wouldn’t send one to everyone in the company. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/6 "2007-04-30T20:38:53Z")
I sent an e mail to everyone in my contacts list that I had had dealings with and thought that they might care. I did not do a company wide e mail. In the past I have seen company wide e mails that were basically **FUCK YOU** strong letter to follow. Perhaps the all time best one I saw was from our president who asked for a vote of confidence from middle management. He lost it big time. He sent an e mail out telling everyone just how dumb a decision we had made, and how he was going to take his toys and go home. (He left the company and sold all his stock) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/7 "2007-04-30T21:00:59Z")
I don’t care what you think about goodbye emails, its insulting a proud and industrious people to call them “kinda poll-ish”. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/8 "2007-04-30T21:06:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I don’t care what you think about goodbye emails, its insulting a proud and industrious people to call them “kinda poll-ish”. [/QUOTE] I really enjoyed that. ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/9 "2007-04-30T21:34:50Z")
I don’t have an opinion on them one way or the other, but I’ve seen them often. I work for a law firm (and have worked at various law firms over the past 10 years), and I’ve seen enough of them that the practice seems to be \*de rigeur \* at law firms. I’ve seen them mostly in memo format (on paper), but Ive also seen those firm-wide e-mail good-byes. Sometimes, an “escapee” will just post his/her farewell message on the “things of interest” firm intranet. And it’s always an attorney (never support staff, which is what I am) who does this. The basic outline is as follows: My time at Increase Your Billable Hours or You Can Fucking Forget Partnership! LLP has been fun/rewarding/informative, and I’d like to thank [partner to whose ass I surgically attached my lips for my six-figure paycheck], [associates with whom I competed Death Match 5000-style], and (sometimes) various support staff. I couldn’t have done it without you! You can reach me at To Hell with Your Kids and Family and Any Semblence of a Life that you THOUGHT You Had Before You Walked Up Into This Bitch. Ta-ta! I know that I said that I didn’t have an opinion about these things, but on second thought, I sometimes find them to be humorous. It’s like, so, you’re leaving. Congratulations on the soul-sucking step up\*, but, really, most of us don’t know you (apart, perhaps, from your petty, bullshit, and unreasonable demands and your jaw-dropping inability to say, “Hey, I know my document was difficult, and I know my handwriting ain’t for shit, but you guys did a bang-up job, and I appreciate it!”), so we won’t notice, and won’t care, when you’ve moved on to greener pastures. \*Yes, I realize that this is not, by any means, representative of all attorneys or law firms–and, hey, we \*need \* lawyers–but I’ve worked in big NYC law firms, and from what I’ve seen at the firms where I’ve worked, it’s mostly Soul-suckingville. Big time. But, hey, the annual Christmas/Winter/Holiday parties and picnic/day at the zoo/whatever’s going on this year events tend to be really nice. Free food (e.g., GINORMOUS shrimp) AND top-shelf alcohol? You are SO singing my song! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/10 "2007-05-01T00:48:47Z")
A friend of mine sends me the best ones from her rather large company. They go out to absolutely everyone and always start off like obits or suicide notes ‘It is with great regret that I must inform you of our loss…’ ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/11 "2007-05-01T01:48:40Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] I don’t have an opinion on them one way or the other, but I’ve seen them often. I work for a law firm (and have worked at various law firms over the past 10 years), and I’ve seen enough of them that the practice seems to be \*de rigeur \* at law firms.[/SIZE] [/QUOTE] I believe you are correct, sir! It’s spring, which is “So Sorry, 8th Year Associate, But You Did Not Make Partner Last Year And Will Never Make Partner Here, So Get The Fuck Out” season at my law firm. Therefore, we have a farewell email from someone (mostly someone I’ve never heard of because they don’t do tax work and I only know tax people) about every 10 days or so. The support staff rates them on a scale of one to 100, using criteron such as quality of insincerity, number of persons named individually, general tone, whether or not support staff are named (and if so, by department or individual), etc. You get negative points for failing to name your persona secretary/assistant by name but rather thanking “my secretary”. So I suppose, I tend to view them as a source of entertainment 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/12 "2007-05-01T01:54:14Z")
Yes, we get them from time to time and they’re usually innocuous farewell messages - great working with you, here’s my new work e-mail/personal e-mail if you want to keep in touch… I remember just one that raised a few hackles, or at least the odd snort of derision - when a senior manager who earned a decent whack compared to the rest of us lower-paid lackeys felt the need to explain to us all that his reason for leaving was the fact that his salary wasn’t enough to pay for his kids’ private schools. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/13 "2007-05-01T02:40:49Z")
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck] I don’t have an opinion on them one way or the other, but I’ve seen them often. I work for a law firm (and have worked at various law firms over the past 10 years), and I’ve seen enough of them that the practice seems to be \*de rigeur \* at law firms. . . . it’s mostly Soul-suckingville. Big time. But, hey, the annual Christmas/Winter/Holiday parties and picnic/day at the zoo/whatever’s going on this year events tend to be really nice. Free food (e.g., GINORMOUS shrimp) AND top-shelf alcohol? You are SO singing my song![/SIZE] [/QUOTE] I came in here write, . . . hey, **Li’l Pluck** , are you sure you’re not me? This is exactly my experience, down to the vantage point. The only thing I’d add is I notice the attorneys usually leave contact information. I’ve always wondered whether that’s in case someone needs to ask them something about a still-pending matter, or an attempt to burn no bridges ('cause ya never know). ::leaves to check the mirror, to see if L’il Pluck is 5-4-Fighting backwards:: ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-emails-at-work-kinda-poll-ish/402185/14 "2007-05-01T06:28:01Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] It’s spring, which is “So Sorry, 8th Year Associate, But You Did Not Make Partner Last Year And Will Never Make Partner Here, So Get The Fuck Out” season at my law firm. Therefore, we have a farewell email from someone (mostly someone I’ve never heard of because they don’t do tax work and I only know tax people) about every 10 days or so. [/QUOTE] Oh, is \*that \* what’s going on? Y’know, I’ve never paid attention to any possible correlation between the season and the frequency of departures, so thanks.