The importance of men’s mental health and how to support them in work

The stats at a glance

Supporting men’s mental health in the workplace

Thankfully, as a business, there are plenty of things you can do to improve the wellbeing of men in the workplace. Some are simple initiatives that make a big difference, while there are some that need a bit more thought but represent a real investment into the wellbeing of your employees.

Introduce an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

If your company has the budget, we can’t recommend an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) enough. An EAP is a service that’s funded by businesses to offer essential support to employees, which includes things like:

• Mental health services

• General counselling

• Financial guidance and advice

• Legal advice

The great thing about an EAP is that it doesn’t just provide support for employees suffering with their mental health. It can also help them tackle the underlying causes before problems escalate.

Arrange masterclasses and guest speakers

If there’s a particular issue you’ve noticed that’s causing issues with mental health at your place of work, then it’s worth thinking about arranging a masterclass or inviting a guest speaker to share their experiences with members of staff.

Mental health masterclasses are a great way of providing training and support for your staff since they’re usually hosted online by professionals who know their stuff. One thing we personally like about online masterclasses is that anyone attending can remain anonymous. This is especially important when 29% of men say they’re embarrassed to talk about their mental health.

If you wanted to create a more personal experience for your staff, then inviting a guest speaker is well worth doing. A good guest speaker will share their knowledge and experiences around a particular mental health issue and even offer some advice or words of encouragement, making it a great way to provide support to employees through a personal connection.

Introduce employee forums and surveys

It probably sounds like an obvious thing to do, but introducing a forum for employees to share their thoughts and feedback is more overlooked than you’d think.

Stress and workload are common problems that have a real impact on men’s mental health at work, so taking the time to actually understand where the issues are and what they’d suggest to make their lives easier is genuinely invaluable. A forum is also a good way of creating an open conversation with employees, since there’s a stigma attached to discussing mental health at work. Tackle it head-on and give them a voice.

Now, we know that an open conversation might not work for everyone, so launching a survey is a good alternative worth exploring. The important thing here is to make it anonymous so that you get unfiltered feedback that gives you a genuine view of how your employee’s mental wellbeing is and what you can do to improve their day-to-day lives.

Provide training for line managers

Providing proper training for your line managers is possibly one of the most important things you can do when tackling men’s mental health in the workplace.

You may think that training for line managers purely consists of ensuring they know how to support members of their team once the conversation has been started. But a line manager who has been given extensive support and training should be able to understand the signs of mental health problems and, in this case, how they typically impact men.

It’s also worth introducing regular well-being check-ins with members of the staff that are separate from simply discussing anything directly work-related. Showing genuine care and concern will help to foster genuine relationships where open conversations can be had without any anxiety, which, in turn, helps everyone involved.

What are mental health symptoms for men?

For example, there’s a common misconception that symptoms of mental health issues are just things like depression, withdrawal and burnout. But for men, it can manifest itself in different ways, such as:

• Anger and irritability

• Escapism

• Low interest and engagement

As you can imagine, there are more symptoms that can point to mental health issues in men, but the key takeaway here is that line managers should be trained to look beyond the usual signs, helping them to recognise any problems with members of their team, then allowing them to proactively start the conversation with greater empathy.

Acknowledge cultural barriers

Following on from the point we made above about recognising signs that go beyond the usual symptoms of mental health issues, you need to consciously recognise the impact that different cultures and ethnicities have on the support you offer.

The reason we say that is because some cultures can dictate whether the conversation around men’s mental health even starts in the first place.

That means you shouldn’t adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach with any initiatives or policies you introduce to help tackle the problems that cause men’s mental health issues in the workplace. 

In some instances, you should introduce messaging that resonates with different cultures and ethnicities, since that will give you the best chance of making a positive impact on their working lives and overall wellbeing.

Paws at Work can make a difference

We’re in an interesting time when it comes to men’s mental health. On one paw, it’s great that it’s becoming a more regular conversation, but on the other, it’s clear that there’s still plenty more to do in order to tackle the problems that cause men’s mental health disorders in the first place.

Thankfully, though, as a business, you can make a really positive impact on the working aspect of men’s lives by reviewing and implementing some of the ideas we’ve discussed above. And remember, if you need support, then our mental health masterclasses and puppy therapy events are well worth exploring.

References

Priory Group - Men's mental health: 40% of men won’t talk to anyone about their mental health

Heads Up Guys - 12 Most Common Men’s Mental Health Challenges

IFA Magazine - Mental health-related sickness absence costs UK workforce 17 million working days