International Men’s Day: The Impact of Mental Health on Both the Individual and the Workplace
As International Men’s Day approaches on 19 November 2023– we believe it is important to look at how men can be supported and enabled to thrive in both their personal and professional lives.
Recently deserved attention has been brought to the issue that many men face with expressing their mental health struggles. This fear of speaking out has resulted in increased male suicide rates with suicide being the single largest killer of men under the age of 45. This has led to the foundation of this day in 1999 with the aim of both improving male mental health and promoting gender equality.
Charities such as Andy’s Man Club have also been established to highlight the importance of speaking openly about your mental health and to provide a place and time for men to meet where there will be a sense of community for those who are struggling.
Poor mental health not only undoubtedly influences men’s home lives but also their capacity to work productively. Therefore, there should be an increased responsibility on employers to support their male employees throughout their period of employment.
Ways in which this support can be offered include:
Sessions reinforcing the importance of mental health, especially for men
Classes/activities with a focus on the improvement of mental health for men
Monitoring of absence and performance issues in search of mental health links
Arrange for a speaker from Andy’s Man Club to come to your workplace
To support this, we (alongside Sarah Darbyshire from HR Solutions Yorkshire and Andy Bampton from Andy’s Man Club hosted a free virtual coffee morning on the 14th November to raise awareness about mental health and its role in the workplace including raising awareness of men’s suicide prevention.
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