This post originally appeared onThe Muse.
You may even come to know about your coworkers lives outside of the office.
But what happens then when a close colleague encounters a personal crisis?
Its wise to strike a balance between offering your support and respecting your colleagues privacy.
Here are some rules of thumb to help you achieve that happy medium.
Your goal should be to make your colleague feel comfortable and cared for, not to provide your recommendations.
Unless someonespecifically asks for your advice, its best to keep your opinions to yourself.
Instead, ask open-ended questions like, How are you holding up?
to try and understand how he or she is feeling.
Simple gestures like these can provide a huge amount of relief for your colleague.
By validating your coworkers struggles, yet remaining neutral, youll help him feel comfortable opening up to you.
Supporting a colleague whos going through personal turmoil can be a tricky workplace scenario to navigate.
By sticking to these rules of thumb, youll be able to strike a balance of support and respect.
Melody has worked with top performers running some of todays biggest startups along with published authors and media personalities.
Image byratch(Shutterstock).
