Handed In a Sick Note for Overwork and Depression, Put on Leave the Very Next Day — 5ch Asks: “Does It Really Move That Fast?”

Written by

in

A post on 5ch’s Newsspeed VIP board describes being ordered onto medical leave the day after submitting a doctor’s note for overwork and depression. The original poster had hoped to stay on the job, but says the paperwork was already moving just one day after reporting the diagnosis. Commenters split between those saying “it’s your own fault for hiding the diagnosis” or “if you’re that unwell, you should take leave,” and others questioning how the process could move so fast and what a normal handover period should actually look like.

1Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:47:11.421ID:ID:BPkDwgXh0
Does medical leave really get decided this fast?
7Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:50:01.897ID:e98+uWhG0
You said you wanted to quit anyway, didn't you?
Same here — they recommended leave and now I'm on it too
9Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:51:53.074ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>7
Actually, I said I wanted to STAY on the job!
8Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:51:39.312ID:y5MZPSfh0
The company runs just fine without any one person
11Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:52:20.892ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>8
The workplace and society keep running fine — my life doesn't
10Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:52:06.286ID:9Ku7i4yR0
You'll get moved to the 'exile room' once you're back (追い出し部屋 — a dead-end department companies use to push out employees they want gone)
13Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:52:40.350ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>10
That's the only future I can picture
15Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:54:01.345ID:pYYm8iq7a
I'm on leave too.
Haven't slept properly in months.

When I'm awake I don't have to think about work, but the second I fall asleep it all comes flooding back and I can't sleep.
17Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:54:51.906ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>15
Is that what tonight's going to be like for me?
Actually no — worrying about work has kept me up this whole time.
16Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:54:15.514ID:/zlbO/IM0
Medical leave isn't something they just order you into —
isn't that basically a disciplinary action?
18Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:55:32.661ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>16
So is this like being suspended or something?
21Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 10:56:39.509ID:EbMsGFr30
More lateness and absences, quality of your work dropping —
does any of that ring a bell?
32Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:19:19.128ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>21
On that front, it rings nothing but bells
30Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:18:14.990ID:BPkDwgXh0
For what it's worth, I did collapse from overwork and depression and got a doctor's note.
I just never reported it.
They asked me, 'So, did the diagnosis ever come back?' so I handed it in (yesterday).
At that point I said I wanted to keep working.
33Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:20:07.270ID:t9mLT/fl0
>>30
You got diagnosed with overwork and depression and just sat on it? That's rough.
Take the leave, man.
36Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:23:11.650ID:flJ1y2xn0
Ah, so you wanted everyone at work to go easy on you because you're struggling, and they said no?
39Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:24:56.197ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>36
It's not really about 'going easy on me' —
I only told my boss, 'my performance is dropping because of this, but I'll recover before long, so please look the other way for a bit.'
38Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:23:52.011ID:75oNT9h50
>>37
That sounds like some pretty warped thinking.
40Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:25:40.698ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>38
Is it warped though?
If you don't push yourself in your 20s, when will you?
42Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:27:12.877ID:75oNT9h50
>>40
Your 20s aren't the only time you get to push yourself.
Timing is different for everyone.
And how much you push should depend on the person too — if your body breaks down, you lose more than you ever gained by pushing.
44Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:27:35.420ID:8HwhxnTf0
Unfortunately, wanting to work and the company turning a profit aren't the same thing.
47Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:28:47.027ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>44
So I really was dead weight after all.
Just getting rid of the nuisance.
45Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:28:00.534ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>42
So all my effort was wasted on this job?
46Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:28:40.578ID:75oNT9h50
>>45
Even if you were useful, there's no continuity once you break down —
and it'd be illegal for the company to keep working you like that anyway.
61Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:37:44.756ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>52

>>53

>>54

Yeah, exactly.
Someone who hasn't delivered results just saying 'I'll do my best' is still in the way, no matter how you slice it.
Makes more sense that those 'your morale is up!' comments were just people humoring you.
62Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:38:25.854ID:75oNT9h50
>>61
Did anyone at the company actually say you were 'in the way'?
68Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:42:39.362ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>62
But the company decided on its own to put me on leave —
doesn't that basically mean 'you're in the way'?
71Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:44:34.545ID:75oNT9h50
>>68
First off, if there's a doctor's note involved, it's not purely the company's decision.
And nobody said the reason for the leave was that you were 'in the way.'
Can we at least agree on that much as the actual facts?
83Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:49:00.476ID:U/fNko+o0
They put you on leave out of nowhere?
Even though they'd been giving you extra time ever since you got the diagnosis?
87Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:51:21.395ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>83
I did collapse, and I was in bad shape for a month or two, sure.
But I only submitted the doctor's note yesterday.
Isn't 'diagnosis yesterday, decision today' way too fast?
90Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:52:43.262ID:U/fNko+o0
>>87
That's factoring in that you'd been hiding the diagnosis, though.
91Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:53:01.727ID:t9mLT/fl0
>>87
If a COVID patient showed up at the office, that'd be a disaster —
a same-day call is completely normal.
102Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 11:59:18.331ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>96
Does the leave process usually go this smoothly?
Shouldn't it take longer than that?
Could they just be rushing it because they want me gone?

I know I sound paranoid saying this, but I'm anxious.
107Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:00:51.830ID:75oNT9h50
>>102
Depends on the company, but it's basically same-day, isn't it?

At the very least, deciding and telling the person can happen same-day.
There might be paperwork behind the scenes after that, but that's beside the point here.

Having a senior coworker handle the handover is more the exception — and only if that coworker is also dealing with mental health stuff.
117Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:05:03.798ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>107
When I collapsed from overwork at my last job,
the handover took about six months,
so I figured that was the going rate.
119Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:05:55.367ID:75oNT9h50
>>117
A company that makes you spend six months handing things over after you collapsed from overwork is insane, I can't even laugh.
Your sense of 'normal' is way off, lol
127Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:11:20.262ID:t9mLT/fl0
>>117
Man…
you seriously need to rethink how you work.
I know someone who burned out with depression in their 20s, never really got back to working properly, and is still like that now in their 50s.
133Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:15:32.421ID:BPkDwgXh0
>>127
Yeah, the 'job lottery' is real.
Honestly I keep drawing losers, it's kind of funny at this point.

Job 1: Event company — went bankrupt
Job 2: Tour company — executive scandal & the company wasn't even properly registered
Job 3: IT advertising — 8:30 AM to 2:00 AM shifts
Job 4: Employment/life support services — current job

My career's in shambles and I'm about to hit my late 20s, so if anyone's got a good job to recommend, I'm all ears.
139Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:19:06.662ID:75oNT9h50
>>133
Why not aim to just go back to your current job for now?
It looks relatively decent compared to the others.

And more than anything, you should never make a life-defining decision like switching jobs while you're depressed.

Like you said yourself, your brain's been 'running away with itself' more than usual lately,
so don't make any irreversible decisions right now.
142Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 12:22:36.556ID:t9mLT/fl0
>>133
It's luck, so there's not much you can do about it.
What matters isn't finding a 'good company'
but finding a company that's 'right for you.'

But hey, obsessing over the future and spiraling negative is a classic symptom of depression.
So for now, just eat something good and get some sleep.
If you can't sleep, just watch some videos or whatever.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Newsspeed VIP) thread “Can’t Hide My Shock at the Sudden Order to Take Medical Leave.”

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *