It Was a Pleasure Working with You: When and How to Use It

Few sentences do more heavy lifting in fewer words than “It was a pleasure working with you.”
It’s the professional equivalent of a warm handshake: not too personal, not too stiff, and rarely controversial.
You can use it to close a project, say goodbye to a coworker, wrap up a client relationship, or keep your reputation
shiny and scratch-free on the way out the door.

But like any “simple” phrase, it can land differently depending on timing, context, and tone. Used well, it’s gracious
and memorable. Used poorly, it can sound like a canned sign-off you copy-pasted while your coffee was still loading.
Let’s make sure you’re in the first category.

What “It Was a Pleasure Working with You” Actually Communicates

At its core, the phrase does three things:

• Shows respect (you’re acknowledging the other person’s role and effort).
• Signals closure (something is ending: a project, a role, a contract, a chapter).
• Protects the relationship (even if the work was stressful, you’re leaving the door open).

It’s not a dramatic declaration of friendship. It’s not a marriage proposal to a spreadsheet. It’s a professional,
positive wrap-up line that tells someone: “We did a thing together, and I’m glad we did it.”

The Secret Sauce: Pick the Right Tense

The biggest mistake people make is using the phrase when the timeline doesn’t match reality. English is picky like that.
If your collaboration is still ongoing, “was” can sound like you’re writing the relationship’s obituary.

1) “It’s a pleasure working with you” (present tense)

Use this when you’re still actively collaborating and you want to reinforce goodwilloften mid-project,
after a helpful meeting, or as a warm-but-professional email closing.

Best for: ongoing projects, active clients, long-term partners.

2) “It’s been a pleasure working with you” (present perfect)

This is the “we’ve been doing this for a while” version. It suggests a relationship that has existed over time and may be
ending soon or shifting. It’s slightly warmer than “It was,” and it fits farewell messages nicely.

Best for: last-week emails, role transitions, wrap-ups that still have a few loose ends.

3) “It was a pleasure working with you” (past tense)

This is the clean close. It says: “The working-together part is complete.” Use it when the collaboration has ended or is
definitively ending (project delivered, contract completed, you or they are leaving).

Best for: final deliverables, end-of-contract notes, last-day goodbyes.

When to Use It (With Realistic Scenarios)

End of a project (client, vendor, cross-team collaboration)

Perfect moment. The project is done, the outcomes are clear, and everyone wants to exit the group chat with dignity.
Add one line of specificity so it doesn’t sound generic:

Example: “It was a pleasure working with you on the website launchyour feedback kept the scope sharp and the timeline sane.”

Someone is leaving (resignation, retirement, layoff, internship ending)

Farewell messages are basically built for this phrase. Just avoid turning it into a speech at the Oscars unless you’re
actually holding a tiny gold statue.

Example: “It’s been a pleasure working with you. I learned a ton from the way you ran standupsclear, calm, and never allergic to deadlines.”

You’re leaving (goodbye email to coworkers, clients, managers)

If you’re sending a goodbye email, the phrase works best near the middle or endafter you’ve shared gratitude and (when appropriate)
how to stay in touch. Keep it positive. Your farewell email is not the place to finally “be honest” about the printer situation.

After a deal or negotiation wraps

Whether you’re in sales, procurement, partnerships, or you just survived a six-week thread about one contract clause,
“It was a pleasure working with you” is a classy finish that signals mutual respect.

When Not to Use It (And What to Say Instead)

If you haven’t actually worked together yet

If you’re emailing after an interview, a networking chat, or a first meeting, “working with you” can sound premature.
Swap in “speaking with you,” “meeting you,” or “chatting with you.”

• “It was a pleasure speaking with you today.”
• “It was great meeting youthanks for your time.”

If the relationship is continuing

If you’re still collaborating, use present tense (“It’s a pleasure working with you”) or a forward-looking close:

• “I’m looking forward to what we build next.”
• “Appreciate your partnershipexcited for the next phase.”

If things were tense (but you still want to be professional)

You don’t have to pretend everything was sunshine and team-building karaoke. The phrase can still work if you keep it neutral
and focus on outcomes:

• “Thank you for your collaboration on this project.”
• “I appreciate your time and partnership throughout.”
• “Thanks for your efforts in getting this across the finish line.”

How to Use the Phrase Without Sounding Like a Robot

The difference between heartfelt and copy-paste is usually one specific detail. Add any of the following:

1) Mention what you appreciated

• Speed: “Thanks for the quick turnaround on approvals.”
• Clarity: “Your notes were always clear and actionable.”
• Energy: “You brought calm to chaotic timelines.”

2) Name the impact

Tie the work to a result (launch, revenue, customer satisfaction, fewer fires). It makes the message feel real:

Example: “It was a pleasure working with youyour diligence helped us launch with fewer post-release issues.”

3) Add a forward-looking line

Even if the project is ending, relationships don’t have to. A simple “keep in touch” (plus contact info when appropriate)
turns a nice sentence into actual networking.

Example: “It was a pleasure working with you. If you ever need a sounding board, feel free to reach me on LinkedIn.”

Ready-to-Use Examples (Email, Slack, LinkedIn)

Copy these, tweak them, and make them sound like a human you’d want to work with.

Example 1: Final project wrap-up to a client

Example 2: Coworker farewell message (warm, not mushy)

Example 3: Goodbye email to your team (short and professional)

Example 4: After a negotiation or partnership agreement

Example 5: Replying to a thank-you email

Alternatives (So You Don’t Sound Like Everyone Else)

“It was a pleasure working with you” is popular because it’s safe. But sometimes you want a different flavor of professional.
Here’s a quick “tone menu”:

More formal

• “Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate.”
• “I appreciate your partnership throughout this engagement.”
• “Thank you for your professionalism and support.”

Warm and modern

• “I really enjoyed collaborating with you.”
• “I loved working with your teamthank you for making it easy.”
• “Grateful for the chance to work together.”

Casual (use with people you actually know)

• “Great working with you!”
• “Thanks for being such a solid partner on this.”
• “Appreciate youlet’s do it again sometime.”

A Quick Etiquette Checklist Before You Hit Send

• Match the tone of the relationship (formal client vs. close teammate).
• Be specific (one detail = 10x more authentic).
• Keep it concise (a farewell email is not your memoir).
• Stay positive (save complaints for your private journal, not company email servers).
• Include contact info if you genuinely want to stay connected.
• Choose the right “ending”: use “was” for endings, “is” for ongoing work.

Real-World Experiences (Extra )

To see how this phrase plays out in real workplaces, imagine three common scenes that happen every day across offices,
job sites, hospitals, agencies, and remote teams held together by caffeine and calendar invites.

Scenario 1: The project that finally ships. A marketing manager and a designer have spent six weeks
revising a landing page. The manager wanted “modern and bold,” the designer kept translating that into “white space and
fewer exclamation points,” and somewhere in the middle they found peace. When the page finally launches, the manager
sends a quick note: “It was a pleasure working with you on this. Your patience and attention to detail really showed.”
That sentence doesn’t just close a taskit closes the emotional loop. The designer feels seen, and the manager signals,
“We did good work together.” Next time a deadline is tight, that goodwill buys speed and cooperation.

Scenario 2: The coworker who’s leaving and everyone pretends they’re ‘totally fine.’ A teammate announces
their resignation. People react with a mix of happiness for them and mild panic about who will run the monthly reporting
process (the report that only one person truly understands, as if it’s written in ancient runes). In the farewell Slack
thread, someone writes: “It’s been a pleasure working with youthanks for always jumping in when things got hectic.”
Notice what happened: the phrase is paired with a specific behavior. It turns a generic goodbye into a genuine compliment,
and it avoids the awkwardness of over-sentimentality. It also keeps the relationship intact, which matters because former
coworkers have a funny habit of becoming future hiring managers, clients, or the person who can finally explain what that
dashboard metric actually means.

Scenario 3: The client relationship that ends cleanly (rare, beautiful, and worth celebrating). A freelancer
wraps up a contract after a successful quarter. Instead of ghosting like a magician disappearing in a puff of smoke, the
client sends a closing message: “It was a pleasure working with you. Your communication made this easy, and we’d love to
reach out again when the next project opens up.” That line does two important things: it ends the current engagement
gracefully, and it plants a seed for future work. For the freelancer, it’s also a reputational assetsomething that can be
referenced in testimonials or future pitches. Everyone leaves feeling respected, and nobody has to wonder, “So… are we done,
or are we just not talking?”

These examples show the real power of the phrase: it’s not fancy, but it’s functional. It helps people close chapters
without slamming doors. And in a world where careers are long and networks are strangely circular, leaving a good impression
is not just politeit’s practical.

Conclusion

“It was a pleasure working with you” is a small sentence with big social value. Use it when collaboration is ending or has
ended, switch tenses when the work continues, and add one specific detail so it sounds like younot a customer service bot
running on low battery. Done right, it’s a graceful goodbye, a professional compliment, and a tiny investment in your future
relationships.