Memoirs of Yukinashiko, an Office Worker | Episode 27: Resignation Letter

After July 25th, I never went to the office again.

When I left the company, I intended to leave behind all the pain and unpleasantness with the version of myself from that day.

I would never go to work at that company again.

I would never hear my boss's voice again.

I would never have to work in the same room, constantly gauging his mood.

It was over.

At the time, that was what I was trying to believe.

However, in reality, nothing had ended.

Even after I stopped going to the office, the necessary procedures for resignation remained.

How many days of paid leave did I have left?

Including the summer holidays, until when would I be using up my paid leave?

Until when would I officially be on the payroll?

My final day at the office had been decided.

However, my official resignation date had not yet been set.

I was supposed to receive contact from the company via email at a later date.

I waited.

A few days later, an email arrived from Director Tachibana.

In that email, it said,

[Regarding the Resignation Letter]

that was what was written.

Following that,

There was a sentence that read, "Please submit your resignation letter with the following details,"

followed by a list of several items.

The email address I used at the time is no longer active.

Therefore, I cannot check the full text of the email now.

However, I remember being asked to submit a resignation letter.

I did not reply immediately.

When I was told in the meeting room to send the resignation letter by email, I only replied,

"Understood."

That was all I said.

I did not ask any further questions.

I did not want to be told anything more.

I was afraid that having unnecessary conversations would only hurt me again.

I would only listen to what was necessary and answer only what was necessary.

That was what I had decided.

But ever since I was told to write a resignation letter, there was one thing that had been bothering me.

Was what the company wanted me to write,

"I am resigning for personal reasons,"

a resignation letter that said that?

That was what I felt.

However, I was not the one who said I wanted to quit.

The company suggested that I resign.

Moreover, they blamed me in a harsh tone and pushed the conversation toward me quitting.

Even after that, they wouldn't set a resignation date and kept expecting me to come to work.

My physical and mental health had deteriorated to the point where I could no longer go to the office.

I had a medical certificate written, consulted a lawyer, and finally, my last day of work was decided.

And yet, for the very end,

"Personal reasons"

if I wrote that, it would mean I quit of my own volition.

The fact that the company told me to quit.

The vague way they handled things afterward.

The fact that I developed depression.

Everything would be processed as if I had just quit for my own reasons.

That was the only thing I didn't want.

Up until then, I had done whatever the company told me to do.

When they told me I couldn't do my job, I thought it was my fault.

When they told me my way of thinking was wrong, I thought I had to fix it.

When they told me to resign, I thought I had no choice but to accept it.

But, by leaving the company, other feelings were gradually emerging.

I felt frustrated.

I didn't want everything to be shaped to the company's convenience like this.

I didn't want to end it all by just being pushed around until the very end.

I did not send in a resignation letter.

But I didn't even know how I should write one.

If I am leaving due to a recommendation to resign, what should I write?

What is necessary to have it classified as a company-initiated resignation?

In the first place, is a resignation letter something that must be submitted?

There were so many things I didn't understand.

Even when I looked it up on the internet, the information differed depending on the situation.

Voluntary resignation.

Company-initiated resignation.

Recommendation to resign.

Dismissal.

They all looked similar, but each term was different.

I didn't even know which category my situation fell into.

The company might say they only recommended that I resign.

Since I accepted it, they might say it was a voluntary resignation.

But what options were actually left for me in that meeting?

The atmosphere was not one where I could continue working there.

The only thing that had been decided in advance was that I would resign.

I stopped making decisions all by myself.

If I didn't know, I decided I would go outside and ask.

Even acquaintances had told me that I should consult the Labor Standards Inspection Office.

Within the company, it had always been treated as if I were the one at fault.

But what about outside the company?

What should I write in my resignation letter?

What should I do to have it treated as a company-initiated dismissal?

I decided to go for a consultation, taking the emails I had received from the company and the documents a lawyer had prepared for me.

It was the first weekday I faced after I stopped going to the company.

I headed to the nearest Labor Standards Inspection Office.

I thought they would help me.

I thought if I went there, they would tell me what I needed to do.

However, the first thing I was told was,

"This is not the right place."

That was what they said.

There is a jurisdiction for the consultation office depending on the location of the company.

The place I went to was not the jurisdiction for my company.

Even after quitting the company, I was still searching for the path to reach the company.

*This story is based on actual experiences, but names of people, company names, dates, and some situations have been changed to prevent the identification of individuals or organizations. *I am organizing this by looking back not only on my memories but also on notes, documents, and recordings from that time. *The content includes discussions of workplace harassment, mental health issues, and resignation.