Health horizons

The silent crisis in men’s health

Many men struggle to talk about their health, and that can have a devastating impact.

Every hour in the UK, 15 men die prematurely.¹ Men are at greater risk of poor outcomes associated with heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and some cancers.² And they are three times more likely to die by suicide, compared to women.³

These are just a few of the myriad reasons that men’s life expectancy is four years shorter than women’s.⁴

Early intervention is the key to improving health outcomes, so there is an urgent need to encourage men to speak up and seek help.

And this silent crisis in men’s physical and mental health has prompted calls from the Local Government Association and men’s health charities for a national strategy to improve men’s health.⁵⁶

Business-critical

These shocking statistics also highlight the business-critical importance of supporting the physical and mental health of men in the workforce. But they tell only part of the story.

The latest Office of National Statistics data suggests that the proportion of men and women in the workforce is roughly comparable — 77.8% for men⁷ and 72.3% for women.⁸

Although family-leave policies are slowly becoming more inclusive for men and women, men are still far more likely to work full-time — 86% compared to 62% of women.

Most men also continue to work in full-time employment after taking family leave,⁹ while only 10% of women return to continuous full-time employment after having children.¹⁰

Dr Naveen Puri, Medical Director, Bupa UK Insurance, says, “This underlines the business case for providing targeted health support for men as this can have a huge impact on productivity, employee engagement and talent retention.

“This should be addressed by providing tailored health and wellbeing services and support that specifically meets the health needs of men.”

Importance of early intervention

As a systematic review published by the British Medical Journal points out, “There is a strong case for employers to engage in employee health and wellbeing programmes.

“Benefits at the organisational level include increased productivity, improved employee retention, reduced sickness absence and greater employee resilience.”¹¹

Many companies already recognise the value of providing good healthcare packages, and the role that these benefits play in recruiting and retaining talent.

New research from the health division of the global consultancy firm Mercer, found that enhancing benefits to improve attraction and retention (72%) and expanding behavioural healthcare access (66%) were both high priorities in the strategic plans for companies with 500 or more employees.¹²

Business benefits

To ensure meaningful returns and business benefits, it is essential to develop support which engages the men in your teams, and uses language and communication styles which encourages them to speak up.

When messaging resonates with men, it can have a huge impact, as Sir Chris Hoy’s recent disclosure that his prostate cancer is terminal has shown.

In the 48-hours following the six-time Olympic champion’s announcement, there was a 672% increase in NHS website searches for prostate cancer symptoms.¹³

Engagement

However, a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to deliver tangible returns. Take the example of obesity, for instance. Excess weight is a major driver for poor health, with one 2023 study estimating it increases the risk of premature death by as much as 91%.¹⁴

And it’s clearly a driver for the health divide between men and women, because males are more likely to be overweight or obese than women in all parts of the UK.

In England 68% of men are overweight or obese, compared to 58% of women,¹⁵ in Scotland it’s 70% of men compared to 64% of women,¹⁶ in Wales the figures are 66% versus 56%¹⁷ and in Northern Ireland it’s 71% and 60% respectively.¹⁸

Likely to respond

Men’s interaction with commercial and NHS weight loss programmes illustrates some of the issues to consider. Generally, engagement is poor, with many men perceiving these services as “feminised spaces” where they felt “self-conscious and out of place”.¹⁹

As an East of England study found, men were more likely to respond to weight-loss support which focused on sport and physical activity rather than group discussions.²⁰

Dr Naveen says, “This is just one of the many areas where men and women take a very different approach to their health and wellbeing, and strategies to support workplace wellbeing should reflect these differing needs."

Stereotypes

“Men are less likely to seek help, and are often more hesitant when raising concerns — and in part this is probably due to stereotypes around masculine behaviour.

“This is particularly true when discussing issues such as erectile function and infertility, which are often intertwined with a man’s sense of self and masculinity.

“Similarly, men may worry that talking about their mental health, or concerns around substance abuse, are a sign of weakness, when it takes strength to acknowledge a problem and seek help.”

These gender differences highlight the importance of providing workplace support which is tailored to meet men’s specific needs and health behaviours, and encourages them to share any concerns.

Affirming

As a parliamentary report on men’s health suggests, “Taking a more positive strength-based model on masculine norms could help engage certain men by affirming their masculine identities.”²¹

Dr Naveen says, “Bupa has a wealth of resources and knowledge to help organisations meet this challenge, and ensure they are providing male employees with the targeted health and wellbeing support that deliver real returns.”

Additional resources:

Men's mental health landing page Click here
Manager’s guide to men’s health Click here (PDF, 0.5MB)
Supporting men’s health Click here (PDF, 1.0MB)