this is a coworker.
to me a clear no, this person jokes about it and smiles. I can share her frustration with stupid job tasks, demanding clients, or having to get up too early, commute… I find her genuine and full of energy, I like working with her, she’s sincere. I like that in people, she likes to help.
However, other 2 female colleagues have the opposite point of view: there is something that troubles her because she constantly jokes about death, killing herself due to some clients, waking up early…
We all agree she is so full of energy, my colleagues say she jokes about it constantly. I hear her joking about once or twice a day.
Am I being naive?
You’re being naive. You’re probably not realising how common and well concealed depression is. Then when you see signs you’ve written it off as dark humour that can’t be legitimate feelings because their mask looks happy.
When a coworker was doing the same I had a chat with him, starting the conversation about another friend of mine who had recently attempted suicide and how it was hard for me getting up at 2am to his partner calling me driving to his house and talking him down getting him help and how tired I was. My coworker opened up and told me he had nearly been on the edge too. Completely invisible to everyone at work.
People try to normalise the thoughts that go through their head. Cope with humour and hide with acting normality and energy.
People struggle. Almost everyone goes through depression at some time in their life. You’ll work with people who contemplate suicide and walk by unknowingly everyday.