Some days the biggest thing you’ll accomplish is sitting next to someone who didn’t want to be alone.

Presence counts as work, even though it never looks like it on any list. Sitting down next to somebody does not fix their situation and it was never going to. What it changes is one fact, which is that they are going through it with a person nearby instead of without one. That fact carries further than advice usually does.

If someone has been eating alone or has gone quiet in the group chat, you do not need a speech. Sit down and say almost nothing. Being there is the entire offer, and it is allowed to be the whole day’s work.