Hi there, fans of plans. This fortnight we are talking about International Men’s Day, which takes place annually on 19th November.

The day is to celebrate and highlight the positive value of men in the world, to families and to communities. It also aims to raise awareness of men’s wellbeing and promote positive role models.

This year, the theme for International Men’s Day was ‘zero male suicide’, a subject that sadly affects so many.

So, what can we be doing in the workplace to help with men’s wellbeing? Here are a few ideas:

It’s good to talk

For many, it can be hard to open up and talk about issues you might be going through. This is even more so for men. Gender stereotypes don’t help with this, and we need to make sure that talking about what we are going through or any issues we have becomes normal and not something to be shied away from. Why not....

-        Create ‘safe spaces’ where male members of your team can go and talk. It might be joined with an activity that you know your colleagues enjoy. If we are in a familiar, comfortable environment, we are more likely to open up.  

-        Use posters in the men’s bathrooms to promote counselling or helpline numbers for assistance for a range of issues and worries your colleagues might be having. Hiding a number on your intranet means it probably isn’t accessible or easy to find when a colleague needs it. Think about areas your colleagues use regularly to help them find the support they might need easily.

-        Use your communication channels to highlight men getting support for issues, find real-life examples. It could be someone in your organisation willing to share their experience, or a celebrity who has opened up about their struggles.

By normalising being able to talk to others about issues, we can look to embed behaviours across the business of colleagues, especially men, feeling comfortable talking about their worries and concerns.

It’s ok to not be ok

There can be a fear that by talking about any issues we are having that our workplace won’t be understanding. Managers and leaders need to make sure that they have an open-door policy and are there to support their team members going through difficulties, be that in their work or personal lives. Having that understanding can really help a colleague, should they need time off work, to feel confident in returning to the workplace.

Looking out for each other

So fans of plans, I’ll leave you with this thought – maybe it’s the colleague who is the one helping everyone else, but who is the one that really need support themselves. Check in on them and ask if they are ok, you could be the catalyst to help them open up and ask for help.