While mental health affects both men and women, the statistics of suicide among men are much greater than their female counterparts. Our country is losing men to suicide at the rate of six per day. If you have men in your workplace, are you as an organisation catering to their wellbeing? Not only do the men under your watch and their families suffer when mental health conditions go untreated, but the cost to Australian workplaces is approximately $10.9 billion per year.

The difference between men’s and women’s mental health at work is this: 82% of men with mental health problems say that it affects their working life compared to 68% of women. Despite these elevated results, six in ten men don’t feel like they can let their managers know how they’re feeling. This is for fear of their professional abilities being questioned, judgement, and also a perceived lack of understanding around mental health. Compared to women, men are also less likely to seek help from health professionals, leading to the potential for untreated issues snowballing.

Here are three areas your business needs to consider in ensuring its men are mentally healthy:

Break down the barriers to getting help

Men rank medical professionals as who they’d be most likely to talk to about their mental health. Does your organisation offer a service which can provide help for people who need it? More importantly, is that this information is promoted widely, often and with the information easy to access. It’s important to consider where the men in your business are physically located. If they are on the tools or out in the field, they won’t have the same abilities to access information by email like an office worker might. Your internal communication will need to be tailored to the unique requirements of your organisation.

Also, men who are employed full-time can often put off making and attending medical appointments because they need to take time off work. Is your organisation flexible when it comes to your people taking time out for medical and health reasons? It’s also important to build a culture where men know that taking time off or having access to flexible work so they can sufficiently recover from mental health issues is met with support and encouragement. 

Men want to spend time with their families too  

Men are taking a more active role in raising their children than in previous decades. As a business, can you hand on heart say you are supportive of men taking leave to care for their newborns or families? This ABC article breaks down the issue and shares an anecdote about a dad who preferred to invent medical appointments rather than disclosing he needed time off to attend day care or school engagements. Many workplaces still view these as the domain of the female parent, like parental leave. Most Australian workplaces (81% according to one study) unfortunately still don’t consider fathers as eligible when it comes to their paid parental leave policies. The Australian Government’s 18 weeks of Paid Parental Leave however can be transferred to a dad as a ‘primary carer’. But even in this case, his workplace would need to be supportive of him taking an extended period of time off, which many appear not to be.

A study by the Australian Government’s Human Rights Commission that showed 27% of fathers had experienced workplace discrimination when it came to parental leave and needing time off for family responsibilities. The discrimination includes negative attitudes, impacts to pay and even threats of dismissal. As you might imagine, the report also found that this discrimination had a negative impact on the mental health of 61% of the men involved.

Lead by example

It’s great to have an awareness month to really put the spotlight on mental health, but don’t let it slide quietly back off the radar. Keeping the narrative around mental health open throughout the year creates the atmosphere where people can feel comfortable to disclose if they wish, and at the very least, break down stigma about mental health in general.

Then, provide the channels where men (and women) can open up if they need to. Connect your people managers with the right training to recognise the signs of poor mental health in those around them. Managers should also proactively check in with their teams on a personal level in a one-on-one and non-confrontational environment.

The Australian HR Institute recommends men in senior roles should role model behaviours for other staff by stressing the importance of work/life balance and sharing their own stories and strategies for success around coping with stress, failure and their workload. The open narrative around mental health issues can encourage other men that it’s okay to come forward.

Expert advice to help you create a mentally healthy workplace for all

Failing to recognise and provide a mentally healthy environment can both create and exacerbate mental health conditions in the people who work within your organisation. CBHS Corporate Health can help you start the conversation about the importance of men’s health and mental health in your workplace. To find out more, contact us at wellbeing@cbhscorp.com.au.

Sources

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/SWP_2014_Web.pdf

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/who-does-it-affect/men

https://www.onrec.com/news/statistics/men-at-breaking-point-six-in-ten-want-to-quit-their-job-because-it-worsens-their

https://www.abc.net.au/life/dads-taking-paternity-parental-leave-in-australia/11055054

https://www.hrmonline.com.au/section/featured/mens-mental-health-workplace/