Regarding Michael Hoffman's June 24 column, "The doomsday cult of 9-to-5 depression": This 9-to-5 depression affects not only Japanese people. I'd gotten to the stage where I wanted to actually vomit in the morning if I had to face another day at my job.
So, despite not having another job to go to, when the time came for the new contract earlier this year, I said "No thanks."
I figured it would take about two months for my eating, sleeping and general mood to recover from the several years I'd spent at that job, and I was right. The seemingly never-ending demands for MORE with no encouragement, gratitude or reward became too much and I just had to leave.
I knew from previous occasions that asking for time off, even with an explanation of the problem, would garner no sympathy and I'd be told I should find another job if I couldn't cope. In fact, management had been saying just that to us on a regular basis for about a year or so. My situation now is less than enviable, I'm still out of work, but for the sake of my health, I had to do it.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.