Men’s Health Week raises awareness of health issues and getting men to become more aware of these health issues. This year Men’s Health Week runs from 15th-21st June 2020.
How can work affect health?
Good employee health is good for business; many hours are spent working which can have a major impact on health.
Having too much work can become stressful which is bad for health. Work is known to be one of the biggest single causes of stress with experts believing that stress is responsible for as many deaths as heart problems.
Health of Men at work
Men’s health statistics show that one in five die before they reach the age of 65, meaning only four make it past retirement age. 75% of the premature deaths in men are from heart problems and three in four suicides are men.
When a man suffers a health setback, so many other people can be affected too, from family and friends to work colleagues, and the impact can be quite significant.
Health improvement and wellbeing initiatives in the workplace are particularly important to men. Having a proactive approach to men’s health in the workplace could help to boost the lifespan of the male workforce.
Employers should encourage an open culture amongst the workforce to identify and share issues.
- Men are less likely than women to make use of forms of health provision;
- Men spend more of their lives in the workplace;
- Men are almost twice likely to work full-time;
- A long hour’s culture is mainly a British disease and also a male one. According to research 1 in 4 males work 48 hours or more a week.
Long hours and health
Working long hours can be unhealthy, research has showed there is a connection between working long hours and ill health. Working 35-40 hours per week is considered normal and healthy, working consistently over 41 hours per week and this can cause damage to your health and reduce your working life. Working more hours also equates to less time with family, friends, socialising and exercise.
The Stress Management Association say that over half of the UK workforce suffers from stress resulting in at least 1 in 4 taking time off work due to stress related illnesses, with the most cited cause being long hours and workloads.
Staff Wellness Programmes
Staff wellness programmes in the workplace can have several benefits, these include:
- Reducing levels of sickness absence;
- Lower staff turnover;
- Increased employee satisfaction.
Staff wellness programmes can include initiatives such as:
- Stop smoking schemes, offering support for employees to quit smoking;
- Discounted gym memberships;
- Sporting events or charity fundraising events to encourage employees to get active;
- Participating in various health campaigns, for example Movember;
- Communicate the NHS free health checks for the over 40’s, sometimes mobile units will visit workplaces to offer the health checks onsite for employees;
- Encouraging employees to take their breaktimes, leave work on time and use annual leave allowances;
- Communicate stress reducing activities;
- Encourage staff to take breaks from their workstations and move around during the working day;
- Promote an open culture where employees feel comfortable talking about issues, they may be going through, this can be via an employee assist programme which gives employees someone independent to talk to. Talking is one of the easiest most effective ways to see off little problems before they become big ones;
- Talk about mental health so that it doesn’t make it feel like a failing or loss of control, be positive about it and encourage employees to speak out. Recognize mental health awareness weeks to promote positivity in the workplace.
Health and Safety
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the legislation that covers occupational health and safety.
It sets the general duties that:
- Employers have towards employees and members of the public;
- Employees have to themselves;
- Certain self-employed have towards themselves and others.
If you would like further information on managing employee well-being, please contact Clover HR on 0121 516 0299 or email us at info@cloverhr.co.uk
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