Men's Health Awareness Month

Celebrating Men’s Health Awareness Month

Only 18% of men say that they are comfortable with openly discussing their feelings. According to suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm), suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45. We want to help support jobseekers, and employers, find jobs that offer people protective environments in the workplace.

Mean’s Health Awareness month raises important questions. A YouGov poll of 2,000 men aged between 18 and 45 found 42% of them had considered ending their own lives. Around half of that group admitting that they had never spoken to anyone about these thoughts. It’s a growing problem for men of all ages in the UK.

Men's health issues

This Men’s Health Awareness Month we want to talk about the issues around getting men the health care they need. Right now, many men never flag up their health concerns until it may be too late. And possibly for that reason, one in five British males don’t live past the age of 65. It’s a problem of culture (which expects men to be “strong”) and offers barriers to easily accessing healthcare. For example, flexible doctor’s appointments that suit working hours are difficult to get.

And it’s not just about getting an appointment. Research suggests men hate going to see a doctor. And that means we don’t talk about the issues of Men’s Health Awareness month more widely. It’s because society tells us that we should be brave and never need to seek out help. These problems are then compounded by the problem of actually getting an appointment.

The next issue runs even deeper. It’s men’s continued embarrassment, even when they are in the consultation room, about getting medical advice on men’s health problems. This idea of being strong and brave starts early and follows men throughout their lives. We want to create environments where people feel free to be who they are and discuss their issues. We want to help people find jobs that make them feel comfortable. Search our database of job vacancieshere.

What can we do for Men’s Health Awareness Month

Solving this problem starts by talking more about the regular exercise, good diet and regular medical check-ups that can help people live longer, happier lives. Without this attention, or even with but under treatment, comes chronic conditions due to a lack of preventative medicine. That could be a heart attack, or a stroke. Employers can help support employees to access healthcare by offering services as part of an employee benefit package.

For example:

• Dietician advice or meal planning
• Counselling or therapy
• Access to subsidises sorts clubs or facilities
• Buy-a-bike schemes that allow employees to invest in leaner, greener form of travel through salary sacrifice.

Mental health is another important issue. Women are actually more likely to suffer from depression. However, they are also more likely to seek help when this happens. It is believed that, in part, it is society’s stereotypical idea of masculinity that results in men being reticent to talk about their feelings.

Mental health in the workplace

One in four people suffer with mental health needsat some point in their life. This makes it very likely that anyone worrying about disclosing their health to an employer will not be alone. By opening up the discussion on mental health, this could encourage colleagues to do the same and seek help with their own issues.

Mental health problems are one of the most common reasons for taking time off sick from work. One way to minimise time off sick is to be open with your employer about your mental health. Having a job helps to build self-worth and social inclusion, so generally speaking being in work is good for your mental health. If an employer knows about your mental health they are able to look at making adjustments to ensure that you able to manage both work and your health. 

In conclusion, we’ll leave you with a few tips for Men’s Health Awareness Month: 

• Employers: promote healthy foods at onsite cafeterias. Make sure your catering provisions give people a healthy option.
• Offer extra counselling and support as part of an employee benefit package, allowing people to get check-ups or health advice at a time that suits them.
• Carefully consider employee mental health when managing business workloads and priorities.
• Jobseekers Let’s all be more open about discussing mental health issues before they reach crisis point.
• Find the right job that can give you the support you need.