A crisis on the other side of the world often proves to have personal impact.

In addition to the horror of the situation you may know people who live there, or who have relatives there. Or you may have been there yourself.

In the case of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami it was my brother.  He went out to Japan last October, having been there years before. A few hours after the first big earthquake and tsunami he responded to my email and let me know he was fine.  Then the news of the radiation problems at the Fukushima plant broke.  His mailing address is Fukushima so I was really worried.

And there was silence.

Two days later he emailed again as the internet had been restored and we discussed him coming home.  He was reluctant to just abandon his plans.  He does not have a partner but has Japanese friends, and although he was due to leave his work, it was not for another week. So in the middle of the crisis I was trying to help him make the best assessment of the situation and effectively coaching him to make a decision.

Trains tracks had been destroyed, motorways were reserved for emergency vehicles or were impassable, so coming back to the UK was not an easy option.  However there was no food in the shops, and a day later he had been sent home from work and other families were leaving so it seemed to make sense.

He said goodbye to his Japanese boss and other friends, and after a long journey to Osaka arrived back in the UK. It was a great relief to see him as I had been the only family member in contact with him.  Our mother has Alzheimers, and our brother was out of the country.

What has this to do with work?
It has been a reminder of what is important.

Our work does not exist separate from life.

• Family matters – a lot.
• Emotional stress means you cannot concentrate.  So I took time off.  I had a book group meeting to go to, for example,  and said I couldn’t make it and just lay on the sofa.
• A potential life and death situation also brings up previous situations, and I suspect I was re-living some other experiences.

Despite the additional earthquakes and the fact that the power plant (and the information) is highly suspect, he has gone back to Japan.
I am proud that he wants to go back and start his new job and not just run away if times are difficult.  I imagine as a fluent
Japanese/English speaker he must be able to contribute to the enormous task of re-building.

He reported yesterday that the apartment is still standing and he has electricity (and internet).  His mobile and everyone else’s is constantly bleeping the mobile alert signal.  I hear it when we talk on Skype. His return bus journey of 8 hours was delayed by a further two hours because of earthquakes.

Yes I am worried but we we had a really good time together with my children while he was here, so feel more connected.

• The final thought is that coming through to the other side of a difficult situation helps to define what is important, and releases energy.  Life is full of risks – you have got to do what you have got to do.

We also had a good conversation about his experience working in a traditional Japanese business which I found fascinating and you
may, too.