Greetings and Goodbyes

When arriving at your work setting, it is expected that you will greet the people you work with.  This includes co-workers, supervisors, and customers.  When you greet someone, it shows that you are friendly and professional.  It is not okay to ignore a person who you work near every day. 

Here is what you should do when you greet someone:

Face towards the person.

Look them in the eye if you can; or at least look at some part of their face. 

Smile at them.

Make your voice sound upbeat. 

You should greet your co-worker by saying “hello” or something similar. If it is in the morning, you might say "Good morning. How are you?".

Learn your co-workers’ names and use their names when greeting them.  This makes your greeting more personable and friendly.

Here are examples of greetings for each day of the week:

• Monday:  “Hi! How was your weekend?”
• Tuesday:  “Hey! How’s it going?”
• Wednesday:  “Hello. Do you have a lot of work to do today?”
• Thursday: “Hi there. How are you doing today?”
• Friday:  “Hello. Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?”
  

Your co-worker may greet you first.  When they greet you, you need to immediately respond to them.

Face towards the person.

Look them in the eye if you can; or at least look at some part of their face. 

Smile at them.

Make your voice sound upbeat. 

It is important to always respond to their greeting in a friendly way.

If your co-worker greets you, you should respond right away.

If you are having a bad day, it is okay to be honest, but do not go on and on about why you are in bad mood. Keep your response short and simple.  You could say "I’m okay." or "I’ve been better."

For many jobs, it is appropriate to say goodbye to your supervisor or co-workers at the end of the day when you are leaving.  It is expected that you will say “goodbye” to the people who you work near.  It shows that you are friendly and professional.  When you say “goodbye”, it also lets your supervisor or co-workers know that you are leaving and allows you to make sure that you are no longer needed. 

Here is what you should do when you say “goodbye”:  

Face towards the person.

Look them in the eye if you can; or at least look at some part of their face.

Smile at them.

Make your voice sound upbeat.

Use a short, simple goodbye such as “Have a great night.” or “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Here are examples of what to say to your supervisor or co-workers when you are leaving for different days of the week:

• Monday: “I’m finished with my work. If there’s nothing else, I'll head home now.”
• Tuesday: “Goodbye. Have a good night.”
• Wednesday: “I’m leaving now. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
• Thursday: “Goodbye. I’m taking off for the day.”
• Friday: “Bye! Have a great weekend.”

Watch the Videos and quiz yourself here on Greeting and Goodbyes.  

It is expected that you will greet most of your co-workers, supervisor, and customers at work. 

Here is what you should do when you greet someone or when you say “goodbye”: 

• Face towards the person.
• Look them in the eye if you can; or at least look at some part of their face. 
• Smile at them.
• Make your voice sound upbeat.

It is expected that you will say goodbye to your co-workers, supervisor, and customers at work.