Anthropomorphizing inanimate things is a very human thing to do -- I can imagine that goes double when the thing is tied to your presence in a space -- like someone rearranging the paintings in your house.

I don't see either the author or the coworkers in this story as passive-aggressive, but rather familial -- people who were comfortable with a level of joking and camaraderie that allowed this sorts of comments to be understood as non-serious.