Knowing others

Just found out at drinks last night that one of our collegues is going through a really difficult time at the moment, as his sister is undergoing treatment for cancer. He did not tell anyone about it, even though he has been locked in his room looking really depressed and stressed out in the last few months. We feel bad as none of us knew what was happening, and the only reason one of us found out was that his mom rang, and he was not there to pick up his phone, and his mom left a message with one of the secretaries telling him that his sister was out of a cancer operation.

You don't expect to grow so close to people that you work with, but you do. You see them everyday, you talk to them and you work with them. You understand their strengths and weaknesses, and you form a special kind of bond with them. And when they are in trouble, you want to care for them, but maybe the work enviornment doesn't allow you to do that easily.

I feel guilty as I know he has been down, so I have been going into his room once in a while and talking to him about random stuff to take his mind off his stress, not realising that he is going through this. Maybe he just needs some time alone to think through things.

Ironically, you expect that love and care from a religious institution, not a corporate profit-driven law firm.