u/EntertainmentTop3272

I (28M) used to work with a coworker (same age range, F) in another city. We weren’t close, but we got along fine. When she transferred to my office, I tried to be welcoming—showed her around and made sure she felt comfortable. I was usually the one initiating conversation, and she was responsive but not overly engaged. At one point she mentioned that I “talk a lot” and sometimes prefers quieter interactions so she can focus.

Recently her behavior has shifted. She no longer greets me, avoids eye contact, and keeps her distance even when we cross paths. The only thing I can think of is that I sent her a message via text suggesting she use a neck rest at work since she had mentioned discomfort multiple times to me when sitting beside me. I meant it in a helpful way, but I’m wondering if that might have come across as too personal or inappropriate in some way since shes pregnant and has a husband (I never seen her that way to be honest).

What really bothered me was what happened today. Today, a coworker asked me a question and asked if I could come to her desk, when I came over, I saw the the pregnant coworker sitting beside her (mind you, she usually avoids sitting near the new hires) and I didnt say or do anything to her but she was hiding her face with her hand. I only noticed because I was standing.

My question is how would you interpret this behavior? Like I havent spoken to hear for over a week (we went from talking all the time in the office to absolute radio silence)

I (28M) used to work with a coworker (same age range, F) in another city. We weren’t close, but we got along fine. When she transferred to my office, I tried to be welcoming—showed her around and made sure she felt comfortable. I was usually the one initiating conversation, and she was responsive but not overly engaged. At one point she mentioned that I “talk a lot” and sometimes prefers quieter interactions so she can focus.

Recently her behavior has shifted. She no longer greets me, avoids eye contact, and keeps her distance even when we cross paths. The only thing I can think of is that I sent her a message suggesting she use a neck rest at work since she had mentioned discomfort multiple times to me when sitting beside me. I meant it in a helpful way, but I’m wondering if that might have come across as too personal or inappropriate in some way since shes pregnant and has a husband (I never seen her that way to be honest).

Now things feel awkward since we work in the same office again, and I’m trying to understand how this kind of shift might be perceived.

My question is how would you interpret this behavior? Would this usually be seen as someone setting boundaries, feeling uncomfortable, or just wanting to keep things strictly professional?

I’m probably overthinking this, so I wanted an outside perspective.

I work at a bank and I’m about to rejoin a team I was already part of before (I was on a temporary assignment elsewhere). So I’m not new to the role, even though some of the people around me are newer hires. Our VP even pointed that out in a meeting, saying me and one other girl aren’t really “new” like the others.

There’s this girl on the team who originally worked as a teller in-branch. I actually met her once months ago (in September) when she served me, we had a quick conversation about my background and the fact that she had spent time in my parents country (she went to high school there). Didn’t think much of it at the time.

Fast forward to now, she joined my department. A couple weeks in, she recognized me in a meeting and called it out when we were all leaving. Since then, she’s been the one initiating pretty much all interactions.

Some examples:

• She’s come up to me when she’s with other coworkers and started talking to me specifically
• One time she literally left the person she was walking with just to come ask me a question and we walked back together while talking
• She asks me work-related questions but sometimes adds things like “is it normal to feel like I don’t get this stuff sometimes?”
• She’s invited me to join for things like grabbing food with the group
• She generally seems more engaged with me than I notice her being with other guys (at least from what I’ve seen)

At the same time, it’s not flirty at all. No giggling, no obvious signals. It’s calm, focused, and pretty normal on the surface.

On my end, I haven’t really reciprocated much. I’ve been more reserved lately, mostly just answering her questions and keeping to myself. So if anything, she’s put in more effort interaction-wise than I have.

Part of me thinks:
“ok, she might be a bit interested or at least more engaged with me than others”

But another part of me thinks:
“she’s just new, being social, and I’m reading into normal behavior”

Also worth noting, she does talk to other coworkers too but when I overhear its not as energetic compared to when its with me, so I don’t want to assume I’m special here.

So I’m curious what people think:

Am I overanalyzing normal coworker friendliness, or does this sound like she’s at least somewhat more interested/engaged with me than average?

And if it’s somewhere in the middle, how would you even tell the difference in a workplace setting like this?