I have this coworker whose first instinct to anything I vent about or share anything is to reassure me, like by saying "it's okay," or "that's okay."
An example was me sharing a funny moment where I stumbled over my words while on the phone with another colleague (who I am friendly with).
This is how I told the story to my coworker: "I had a funny moment with (colleague) on the phone today. When (colleague) called and I picked up, I was trying to say 'Manager (my name) here,' but it just came out as 'Ma— Uh. Hm. What the hell am I.'"
Before I even get to say, "What the hell am I," my coworker says, "that's okay!" I was not fishing for reassurance… I thought it was obvious that I wanted to share a silly moment I had.
I think it just rubs me the wrong way because it feels like I come off as someone fishing for reassurance? It feels like I'm miscommunicating my intentions.
Does anyone else know someone who does this? How do you feel about it? Or are you the type of person who automatically says "that's okay"? Why do you do that?
Btw, this is the only coworker who does this. Everyone else just laughs/smile/neutrally acknowledges, and we move on.
EDIT: Thank you to so many of you for answering and providing your perspective. I did feel annoyed by this when I was posting this, but I no longer feel that way thanks to answers. I feel like I learned more. I hope people keep responding to share their thoughts.