5 Ways We Can Improve Men's Mental Health in Business
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Men's mental health is in crisis worldwide. Statistics show that men account for 70% of suicides worldwide, as described in an article by Rob Whitley, a professor in psychiatry from McGill University in Canada. Despite this alarming fact, men are less likely than women to seek help when experiencing poor mental health. This is due to the fact that there is still a social stigma that makes many men believe that being perceived as vulnerable or seeking help goes against the norms of societal constructions of masculinity.
Interestingly, research by Mind, a UK mental health charity, found that work life is the main source of men's mental health issues. The charity found that one in three men attribute work stress to the ill effects on their mental wellbeing, which is twice as many as women who report this. According to another study conducted by CV Library in 2019, 61% of men surveyed wanted to quit their work as it affected their mental health, compared to only 48.5% of women who said so.
Moreover, the pressure to perform well in business has meant that CEOs and entrepreneurs are disproportionately affected by mental health issues, too, compared to the wider public, according to an article published in Small Business Economics.
Related: Taking Care of Mental Health Is Powerful, Not Weak
When the Priory Group, a mental healthcare facilities provider in the UK, interviewed 1,000 men for a survey on men's mental health, they discovered that although 60% of men have talked about their mental health with someone at some point in their lives, 40% of men still haven't discussed their mental health issues with close friends, family or even a medical professional. Among these men who have never opened up about their mental health, the majority reported that the underlying reason for it is that they'd learned to deal with it themselves, with the second and third most popular reasons being, "I don't wish to be a burden to anyone" and "I'm too embarrassed."
These findings tell me that there is a way forward, but it requires out-of-the-box thinking. To tackle men's mental health in business, we need to craft solutions that will make men more likely to seek help in their workspaces, without feeling embarrassed about it. Here are five ways we can do this:
1. Bringing awareness to the workplace
One of the first steps to destigmatizing the shame many men face with regard to mental health issues is to normalize the discourse around mental health issues. According to an independent workplace mental health review by Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmer conducted in 2017, "the correct way to view mental health is that we all have it and we fluctuate between thriving, struggling and being ill and possibly off work." Bringing the realization that even a seemingly healthy and productive employee or business leader can have underlying mental health issues will lessen the pressures many men face around seeking help.
Through normalizing these discussions via newsletters, group projects and even casual training sessions, a workplace can be an easier space for men to discuss their mental health challenges if the subject matter is actively framed as something that everyone collectively could go through.
Related: 6 Common Barriers to Happiness and Productivity for Men
2. Reduce the usage of the term "mental health"
To ensure that mental health services in the workplace are utilized by men, it is vital that we change the language we use to describe the problem in the first place. Using the term "mental health" can be distressing or off-putting for men, according to research, and instead, more specific terms such as "stress" or "burnout" should be used to describe mental health problems.
Men prefer focusing on and talking about problems that are more solvable, so avoiding broader terms when discussing mental health issues can make them open up more. Asking men specific questions relating to work performance could be easier for them to tackle instead of asking more general questions like, "Are you okay?"
3. Encourage lifestyle-based solutions
Men can often feel isolated if they are identified as having a personal problem in their workplace. Instead, greater benefits could be achieved in men's mental health when mental health solutions are tied to wider lifestyle solutions, creating workplace activities that carry out themes such as sportsmanship, camaraderie and teamwork. Making mental health something that a company can work together to improve will make men's participation more likely, since the focus is not entirely on them as individuals.
Well-being outings, group mentorships and friendly sporting events could be promoted as activities that could improve the collective well-being of a workplace and help colleagues work together collaboratively. According to the mental health charity Mind's "Get It Off Your Chest" study, men have a high preference for physical activities when it comes to tackling their mental health.
4. Provide access to online therapy
Research has found that men are more likely to seek help when they can consult a mental health professional, especially when this can be done online, where anonymity can be guaranteed. This approach would also ensure that men would be confident to discuss their mental health struggles without feeling like they're putting their job or position at the company at risk.
Related: We Need a Real Commitment to Mental Health at Work. Here's How (and Why).
5. Create good senior role models
Men are more likely to be empowered to take care of themselves and others when other men in leadership positions are seen to be doing the same. It can be very powerful, for instance, for a male CEO or senior executive to talk to their employees about their own mental health struggles and explain how they work towards their mental well-being. The same could be said about the CEO and entrepreneurial communities, where businesses can work together to ensure that their leaders can work collaboratively and share personal experiences to improve their mental health and well-being together.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Measles vaccine plea ahead of school term
Parents are being urged by health officials to make sure their children are vaccinated before the return to school as measles cases still circulate in the West Midlands. Uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jabs by age five is as low as 75.8% in parts of the region, according the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) - the World Health Organisation recommends a 95% uptake to prevent outbreaks. It comes after Birmingham saw an outbreak in 2025 with 26 confirmed cases between January and June, government figures showed. Katie Spence, from the UKHSA, described measles as a "nasty virus" that can spread quickly among unvaccinated children and adults in places like schools and nurseries. "It can lead to serious health problems including ear and chest infections, inflammation of the brain, with some children ending up in hospital and being left with permanent disabilities. Tragically, in rare cases, it can even be fatal," she said. "As children under the age of one cannot be vaccinated against measles, it's important siblings are vaccinated to protect little ones and other vulnerable people – including those with weakened immune systems – who are unable to have the MMR vaccine and rely on the rest of us to protect them from measles." She added that if parents are unsure about their child's vaccination record, they can check their Red Book, the NHS app or contact their GP surgery. In 2024, figures from the UKHSA showed 329 of 465 (71%) measles cases across England from October 2023 to February 2024 were in the West Midlands. A GP in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham said at the time that, in the majority of cases, medics were seeing were in unvaccinated people. The latest measles data from the UKHSA this summer revealed that there have been 674 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England since 1 January, with 145 in 3-31 July. The West Midlands had 34 out of the 674 cases. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More stories like this Measles vaccination reminder as cases stabilise Health boss tells of 'battle' with anti-vax groups Measles cases continuing to rise Measles warning for parents in East Sussex Related internet links UK Health Security Agency
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cornish care teams shortlisted for national award
Some of Cornwall's care teams have been nominated for a national award for helping more than 230,000 people. Cornwall Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INT) are part of an NHS health programme to provide better care and reduce hospital admissions. It has been shortlisted for the Integrated Care Initiative of the Year at the Health Service Journal Awards. Kate Shields, CEO of NHS Cornwall Integrated Care Board, said it was a "proud moment" for the team. She said Cornwall was "leading the way" with its neighbourhood teams, which were "a shining example" of the NHS' 10-year strategy. Cornwall Integrated Care Board said the teams helped solve several "well-known challenges" including making care more joined up and reducing the time for ideas to be put into practice. The county initially set up six INTs in 2024 in areas including Falmouth and Penryn, Truro, and St Austell. More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall It will now be expanded to 16 across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Katrina Percy, who co-developed and delivered the programme, said it empowered "frontline teams to lead the change". She said the programme demonstrated what was "possible" when the NHS invested in "relationships, trust, and shared purpose". Cornwall NHS said the awards were "the most prestigious recognition of healthcare excellence in the UK", with more than 1,250 entries. Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ More on this story Cornwall 'leading the way in diabetes care' People urged to save hospitals for most vulnerable Integrated health plans for Cornwall published Related internet links HSJ Awards Cornwall Integrated Care System
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Modern medicine has its scientific roots in the Middle Ages − how the logic of vulture brain remedies and bloodletting lives on today
Nothing calls to mind nonsensical treatments and bizarre religious healing rituals as easily as the notion of Dark Age medicine. The 'Saturday Night Live' sketch Medieval Barber Theodoric of York says it all with its portrayal of a quack doctor who insists on extracting pints of his patients' blood in a dirty little shop. Though the skit relies on dubious stereotypes, it's true that many cures from the Middle Ages sound utterly ridiculous – consider a list written around 800 C.E. of remedies derived from a decapitated vulture. Mixing its brain with oil and inserting that into the nose was thought to cure head pain, and wrapping its heart in wolf skin served as an amulet against demonic possession. 'Dark Age medicine' is a useful narrative when it comes to ingrained beliefs about medical progress. It is a period that stands as the abyss from which more enlightened thinkers freed themselves. But recent research pushes back against the depiction of the early Middle Ages as ignorant and superstitious, arguing that there is a consistency and rationality to healing practices at that time. As a historian of the early Middle Ages, roughly 400 to 1000 C.E., I make sense of how the societies that produced vulture medicine envisioned it as one component of a much broader array of legitimate therapies. In order to recognize 'progress' in Dark Age medicine, it is essential to see the broader patterns that led a medieval scribe to copy out a set of recipes using vulture organs. The major innovation of the age was the articulation of a medical philosophy that validated manipulating the physical world because it was a religious duty to rationally guard the body's health. Reason and religion The names of classical medical innovators like Hippocrates and Galen were well known in the early Middle Ages, but few of their texts were in circulation prior to the 13th century. Most intellectual activities in northern Europe were taking place within monasteries, where the majority of surviving medical writings from that time were written, read, discussed and likely put into practice. Scholars have assumed that religious superstition overwhelmed scientific impulse and the church dictated what constituted legitimate healing – namely, prayer, anointing with holy oil, miracles of the saints and penance for sin. However, 'human medicine' – a term affirming human agency in discovering remedies from nature – emerged in the Dark Ages. It appears again and again in a text monks at the monastery of Lorsch, Germany, wrote around the year 800 to defend ancient Greek medical learning. It insists that Hippocratic medicine was mandated by God and that doctors act as divine agents in promoting health. I argue in my recent book, 'Embodying the Soul: Medicine and Religion in Carolingian Europe,' that a major innovation of that time was the creative synthesis of Christian orthodoxy with a growing belief in the importance of preventing disease. Establishing an intellectual framework for medical study was an accomplishment of early medieval scholars. Doctors faced the risk of being lumped together with those who dealt in sorcery and pagan folklore, a real possibility given that the men who composed the Greek medical canon were pagans themselves. The early medieval scribes responsible for producing the medical books of their age crafted powerful arguments about the respectability and piety of the doctor. Their arguments manifest in illustrations that sanctified the human doctor by setting him parallel to Christ. This sanctification was a crucial step in including medicine as its own advanced degree program at the first universities that were established around 1200 in Europe. Thus began the licensing of healers: the elite 'phisici' – the root of the English word 'physician' – trained at the university, along with empirical practitioners like surgeons, herbalists and female healers who claimed a unique authority to treat gynecological illnesses. Today, religious dogmatism is often equated with vaccine hesitancy and resistance to basic scientific truths like evolution. But deeply religious thinkers of the past often saw rational medicine as an expression of faith, not something endangering it. Herbal remedies were scribbled into the margins of early medieval works on theology, history, church sacraments and more. This suggests that book owners valued such knowledge, and people of all classes were actively exchanging recipes and cures by word of mouth before writing the most useful ones down. The body in nature Though the Dark Ages is a period from which no case histories survive, we can still form a picture of an average healing encounter. Texts from that period emphasize the need for the doctor to be highly learned, including being well read in philosophy, logic, arithmetic and astronomy. Such knowledge enabled healers to situate their observations of sick bodies within the rules that governed the constant transformations of nature. There was no way to perceive the internal state of the body via technology – instead, healers had to be excellent listeners and observers. They sought to match the patient's description of suffering with signs that manifested externally on the body. The inside of the flesh could not be seen, but the fluids the body excreted – sweat, urine, menstrual blood, mucus, vomit and feces – carried messages about that invisible realm to the outside. The doctor's diagnosis and prognosis relied on reading these 'excreta' in addition to sensing subtle changes in the pulse. Medieval people were detailed investigators of the natural world and believed the same forces that shaped the landscape and the stars operated inside bodies formed from the same four elements of earth, water, air and fire. Thus, as the moon's waxing and waning moved the ocean tides, so did it cause humors inside the body to grow and decrease. The way the seasons withered crops or provoked tree sap to flow might manifest in the body as yellow bile surging in the summer, and cold, wet phlegm dripping in the winter. Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, so did dregs and undigested material inside the body turn poisonous if not expelled. Standing water in ponds or lakes generated slime and smell, and so were liquids sitting stagnant in the body's vessels seen as breeding grounds for corrupt vapors. In this sense, the menstrual cycle was representative of all bodies, undergoing internal transformations according to seasonal cycles and periodically purged in order to release pent-up fluids. According to this logic, health depended above all on maintaining the body's relationship to the physical environment and ensuring that substances were passing through their proper transformations, whether it was food turning into humors, blood disseminating throughout the body, or excess fluids and wastes leaving the body. Bloodletting was a rational therapy because it could help rebalance the fluids and remove toxins. It was visible and tangible to the patient, and, to the extent that we now better understand the placebo effect, it may well have offered some kind of relief. Fasting, purging, tonics and, above all, monthly dietary regimens were also prominent tools healers used to prevent and relieve sickness. Several medical books, for instance, specified that consuming drinks with cinnamon in November and pennyroyal in August could recalibrate the body's temperature in winter and summer because one drink was warming while the other was cooling. Some medieval remedies – such as one produced from wine, cow bile, garlic and onion to heal eye infections – were later proven to be likely effective in treating sickness. But whether these remedies worked isn't the point. For medieval doctors, vulture brains and cow bile operated according to the same logic that continues to inform research today: Nature operates in mysterious ways, but rational deduction can unlock the hidden mechanisms of disease. The M.D. has direct roots in the Dark Age elevation of 'human medicine.' Before mocking medieval doctors, consider how popular juice cleanses and detox regimens are in the 21st century. Are we really so far from humoral medicine today? This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Meg Leja, Binghamton University, State University of New York Read more: Poison or cure? Traditional Chinese medicine shows that context can make all the difference Medieval illustrated manuscripts reveal how upper-class women managed healthy households – overseeing everything from purging, leeching and cupping to picking the right wet nurse Medieval medical books could hold the recipe for new antibiotics Meg Leja does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
