I was hesitant to read this at first, what with the title and tags, but it was so much better than I expected. I don't know if Kodama Naoko was drawing from personal experiences when writing this, but it all feels very real and true-to-life.
Gotou, especially, was very well written. She had a very satisfying (and personally quite relatable) story arc.
She accomplished things by making herself into what others wanted from her, being who people wanted her to be. When finally faced with a demand she was literally unable to meet, having a child, she was faced with the fact that she didn't know how to live if she wasn't just serving other people.
This scene in chapter 2 sets up her character arc. She coasted by, doing what was asked of her because she believed that was just how things were for women in the workplace. Shigisawa defied that assumption by being proactive and successful in her work, planting the seed that would later lead to Gotou's development as an individual capable of doing things for herself rather than only living to please others.
Chapter 8 states all this more plainly. Gotou doesn't know how to put herself first. That's why she doesn't contact Shigisawa after leaving. She was determined to become self-sufficient and learn how to take care of herself without relying on others. Was it necessary to fully cut Shigisawa out of her life for that year before they met again? Maybe, maybe not, but there's a reason she did it that I consider fairly reasonable.
All in all, a well told story, perhaps held back by being just a bit short. Another few chapters might have helped, but that ends up backfiring about as often as it helps, so maybe it's better to go a bit short.
