Funny · Advice & Questions · Oct 19

Should I correct a farewell card for a coworker who only moved two desks away?

Funny

'Where is he going?' the new starter asked.

I had passed around a card saying, 'You'll be missed, Martin.' Martin is moving from the desk beside me to the other end of our small office. He's still on our team. I thought the farewell card was an obvious joke about losing the person who shares my stapler.

Most colleagues added similarly dramatic messages. The new starter wrote a thoughtful paragraph wishing Martin luck with his next chapter. She now wants to organise a small leaving collection.

I should have explained the premise when I handed her the card. Can I correct it privately without making her feel that everyone else was laughing at her sincere message?

Discussion

3 community replies

@northstar88

Tell her privately before any collection begins: 'I didn't explain the joke properly. Martin is moving desks, not leaving the team.' Apologise for handing her a card that looked like a real farewell. She acted on the information you supplied.

@softfocus

Her kind paragraph doesn't need to become the punchline. Offer her the chance to change it if she wants, and don't read it aloud as evidence that she misunderstood. Martin can receive a friendly message even in a deliberately overdramatic card.

@JulesAfterDark

The new starter had less context than the colleagues who knew the desk plan. 'Obvious' depended on that shared knowledge. At the handover, one sentence about the joke would have been more useful than expecting her to infer it from the stapler relationship.

Should I correct a farewell card for a coworker who only moved two desks away?

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