This varies a lot by culture, though. If you ask a North American how they are, you’ve basically said “hi”. If you ask a Norwegian the same, you’ve asked a personal, private question. You might get an answer if you already know them privately; we might think you’re prying into something that’s neither your nor the workplace’s business if you don’t. Keeping professional is polite, prying is rude.
This varies a lot by culture, though. If you ask a North American how they are, you’ve basically said “hi”. If you ask a Norwegian the same, you’ve asked a personal, private question. You might get an answer if you already know them privately; we might think you’re prying into something that’s neither your nor the workplace’s business if you don’t. Keeping professional is polite, prying is rude.
Sure, context and culture matter. Thanks for pointing this out!