01.06.2025
Men’s Health Week (10–16 June 2025) is a time to raise awareness around the physical and mental health challenges facing men today, and to explore what meaningful support looks like, particularly in the workplace.
While most businesses now recognise the value of employee wellbeing, men continue to experience poorer outcomes and less access to support compared to their female counterparts.
This isn’t just a health crisis; it’s a cultural and structural one, and the workplace is a vital part of the solution.
By embracing this year’s awareness week as a catalyst for long-term change, organisations can create a more supportive, resilient and productive workforce. The steps don’t need to be radical, but they do need to be intentional.
Why does men’s health need support?
Men in the UK are statistically more likely to die from preventable illnesses such as heart disease and certain cancers. They are also less likely to seek support for mental health challenges, often waiting until a crisis point to reach out, if they do at all.
Suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under the age of 50, and work-related stress plays a significant role in that statistic.
Despite the fact that men make up a substantial part of the workforce, many still feel unable to open up about their struggles. Masculine ideals around resilience, self-reliance, and stoicism often prevent men from accessing help, even when it’s available.
Workplace culture, polices, and line management all influence how safe men feel to speak up, and too often, the culture encourages silence.
That silence can come at a steep price. Poor employee health leads to higher sickness absence, greater staff turnover, and reduced engagement and morale. Conversely, organisations that invest in targeted wellbeing support tend to perform better on every metric, from retention to reputation.
Helping men speak up
One of the most effective changes a business can make is to foster an environment where health and well-being are part of everyday conversation. This requires a culture shift, where employees of all genders (and particularly men) feel safe to express vulnerability, take time off for medical needs, or access counselling without fear of judgment.
Leadership plays a crucial role. When senior leaders and managers actively promote mental health awareness, take part in wellness activities, or openly share their own challenges, they give others permission to do the same. This helps dismantle harmful taboos and reframes health as a shared organisational priority, not a personal failing.
It’s also important that wellbeing initiatives are inclusive. Men may be less likely to engage with resources that feel too general, overly clinical, or designed without them in mind. Creating space specifically for conversations about men’s health — through events, training or internal campaigns, helps make that support more visible and relevant.
Training Staff in Mental Health First Aid
While creating a supportive culture is foundational, businesses should also offer practical tools for staff to spot when someone is struggling. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is a powerful way to do this.
At Joyful Living, the accredited Mental Health First Aid courses are designed to equip employees with the confidence and skills to recognise the signs of poor mental health, respond appropriately, and guide colleagues toward the right support. The training covers issues like stress, anxiety, depression and crisis intervention, making it ideal for line managers, HR teams, and anyone in a people-facing role.
Beyond the training itself, having qualified mental health first aiders in place sends a strong message. It shows your workforce that wellbeing is not just discussed but embedded into your processes and daily interactions.
Wellness Programmes
Supporting men’s health isn’t only about responding to problems when they arise, it’s about prevention. Wellness programmes give staff the tools and opportunities to stay well, long before they reach breaking point.
Joyful Living’s Employee Wellness Programmes take a holistic approach to wellbeing, combining mental, physical and emotional support. From guided mindfulness sessions and resilience workshops, to health screenings, fitness classes and nutrition advice, these programmes help male employees engage with their health in ways that feel approachable, accessible and useful.
Offering these kinds of initiatives (and communicating them clearly) can shift attitudes over time. It also helps employees develop sustainable habits that improve their wellbeing inside and outside of work. For male employees in particular, this visibility and consistency can be the difference between disengagement and active participation.
Normalising time-off
Men are statistically more likely to ignore health symptoms and less likely to take time off for preventative care. Businesses can change this dynamic by normalising and encouraging the use of healthcare services and wellbeing resources.
That means promoting flexible working options for medical appointments or mental health days, ensuring that line managers understand the importance of self-care, and making wellbeing a visible part of internal communication.
When men see their peers, especially senior ones, taking proactive steps to look after their health, it creates a new standard. Taking care of yourself becomes not just accepted, but expected. And when self-care is supported by the organisation, employees are more likely to stay loyal, healthy, and motivated.
Taking action this Men’s Health Week
This year’s Men’s Health Week is an opportunity for businesses to reflect on the systems, cultures and support they have in place, and to commit to doing more.
There’s no need for grand gestures. Even the simplest actions can have a profound impact. That might include hosting a lunchtime session focused on men’s wellbeing, promoting internal mental health champions, encouraging employees to take part in a wellness challenge, or reviewing current policies to ensure they don’t inadvertently discourage men from seeking help.
The key is to do something, and to keep doing it, consistently and meaningfully.
Invest in long-term change
Supporting men’s health at work isn’t about tokenism. It’s about recognising the barriers that exist and doing the work to remove them. It’s about empowering men to take charge of their health (physically and mentally) and creating the conditions where they feel safe, supported and understood.
With the right training, resources and attitude, any business can become a place where male employees thrive. And that’s a win for individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole.