Just Quit Your Job: What I Want to Tell You Now

The other day, I was simmering curry at home when a friend called me.

My friend said,

I'm going to celebrate my birthday now, so I want you to come to the izakaya.

he said.

My friend is a little older than me, so he is over 50.

I said,

I can't go because I'm simmering curry.

I said.

My friend said,

It's fine, so I want you to come.

he said.

I said,

I'm the one who decides whether it's fine or not.

I said, and then my friend said,

Thanks. How many minutes until you get here?

he said, so I said again,

I told you I'm simmering curry.

I said.

My friend said,

But it's my birthday.

I said.

A birthday for a guy over 50 is nothing to celebrate anymore.
It's just a marker that your lifespan is decreasing.

My friend said.

That's terrible.

I said.

It certainly was terrible.

I said.

Then we repeated a similar exchange about three times.

This was our usual routine.

Even though he is a friend, he is older than me, so I usually speak to him in polite language, but I enjoy using casual, strong retorts only when he makes unreasonable demands or starts joking conversations.

Knowing that I often cannot respond to his sudden invitations, my friend was simply calling because he enjoyed the exchange of words.

Since my friend seemed satisfied with our usual exchange,

Well, I'm hanging up now. Happy birthday.

I said, and he replied,

Oh, sorry, I have one more thing today. Actually, it's about Yosuke.

He said.

Yosuke was a former employee at the izakaya where my friend and I first met, and he is someone who now works at the same company as me.

When Yosuke was an izakaya employee, he apparently admired the people from my company who frequented the place and asked me for advice on how to join.

Rather than admiring us, he probably just heard our stories and thought it looked glamorous despite the low barrier to entry.

In fact, the company I work for is a complete meritocracy with no age or educational requirements, and basically, anyone can join if they have a recommendation.

However, while it sounds good to call it a venture company, the reality is that it is just a small-to-medium-sized enterprise, so we do the kind of dirty sales work that large companies won't touch.

I told Yosuke that it wasn't an easy world, but since he still wanted to join, I recommended him to the president.

Because Yosuke joined based on my recommendation, he did not become my direct subordinate but was assigned to a different sales office.

As luck would have it, the company's overall sales began to decline around the time Yosuke joined, and everyone started struggling.

With the company's overall performance dropping, there was no way for a newcomer like Yosuke to succeed.

I had heard rumors that Yosuke's performance was poor, but since we were in different offices and I was struggling with my own performance, I only called him occasionally.

I said to my friend,

Is something wrong with Yosuke?

The friend said,

The friend replied,

Actually, it seems Yosuke wants to quit his job but can't bring himself to say it.

When I said,

I see,

The friend said,

Actually, Yosuke is right here next to me right now.

When I heard that, I understood just how cornered Yosuke must have been.

Yosuke is basically a polite person.

The fact that he had a friend say it for him instead of saying it himself meant he must have been under considerable pressure.

I immediately understood that he had been enduring it because he was worried about making me look bad for recommending him.

I asked Yosuke to hand the phone over to me.

It's okay. It's okay to quit right now.
I'm sorry I didn't notice how much you were suffering.
Just quit, just quit.
Even if you quit, I'm still your friend, so don't worry.

Also, it just so happened that our company wasn't a good fit for you, but I'm sure you'll find a job that suits you.
You might think you're weak-minded right now, but I think you're a strong person for being able to tell someone before you endured so much that your mental health broke.

That's what I said. Yosuke was crying on the other end of the line.

I once saw someone close to me endure work stress over and over again until their mind broke, and they were never able to work again.

If you are reading this and you are currently suffering, enduring, and feeling like your mind is about to break, I think you should just quit your job.

This is important, so I will say it again.

If you are suffering and enduring to the point where your mind is going to break, I think you should just quit your job.

There is no job that only you can do.

It is an illusion to think that way and corner yourself.

Take care of your heart.

Well then, excuse me🌊🌊🌊