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They were the kind of employee managers quietly hope for.
The kind you don’t worry about.
And maybe that’s why I didn’t look any deeper.
The Assumptions We Don’t Realize We Make
It’s uncomfortable to admit, but we all make assumptions.
We assume we understand people based on:
Their job title
Their demeanor
Their communication style
Their background as presented on paper
We assume that what we see at work is most of who they are.
But work has a way of flattening people. It reduces lives to schedules, responsibilities, and deliverables. It turns human beings into roles.
And I had done exactly that.
An Ordinary Conversation That Wasn’t Ordinary
The day everything changed started like any other.
We were wrapping up a task when the conversation drifted—casually, naturally—away from work. Someone mentioned a local event. Another person shared a weekend plan. Then I asked a simple question, almost out of habit:
“So, what do you do outside of work?”
It was the kind of question people answer with:
“Oh, not much.”
“Just relaxing.”
“Spending time with family.”
