When Your Only Teammate Leaves: How to Cope and Plan

Updated September 2026: in 2019 I wrote about hearing that my only teammate was moving to another team within days, just as my own promotion was due. I have rewritten it as a guide to coping when a close colleague leaves and planning your own next steps calmly.

When my teammate told me she was leaving to join a new team, and would move within a few days, I could not take it in. I was shocked, and worried that I would be alone in the team. My first thought was to look for a new job or team myself. But my promotion was due at any time, and moving would have felt like pressing a reset button on my career. So I calmed down, spent a few hours remembering the good times we had, and accepted that everyone wants to grow and life has to move on.

Why does a teammate leaving hit so hard?

You lose more than a colleague. You lose the person who covered for you, knew the history of every request and made long days easier. The workload question comes straight after: who will pick up what she did?

Should you leave too?

Not in the first week. Decisions made in shock are rarely good ones. Ask yourself what has actually changed. If your role, manager and prospects are the same, and something like a promotion is close, staying for a few more months often makes sense. If her leaving exposes a deeper problem with the team, start planning, but on your own timeline.

What should you do before she moves?

• Get a proper handover of her open work, contacts and files.
• Write down what only she knew, such as client preferences and where things are stored.
• Agree how to reach her for occasional questions in her new team.
• Talk to your manager about how her work will be covered and whether a replacement is planned.

How do you avoid being overloaded afterwards?

Make the extra load visible. List what you now carry and ask your manager to set priorities. Doing everything quietly may look loyal, but it hides the gap and delays any hire.

Is it worth staying in touch?

Yes. A former teammate in another part of the company is a useful contact, and sometimes a route to your own next move when you are ready for it.

Keep reading

• Assigned to a New Team Overnight: First Steps
• Helping Your Old Team? Tell Your Manager First
• Said Yes Too Fast at Work? How to Weigh a Request