17 November 20239 January 2024

Celebrating International Men’s Day today for a better future

What is International Men’s Day (IMD)?

“On November 19, International Men’s Day celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities. Highlighting positive role models and raising awareness of men’s well-being.”

– interntionalmensday.com

The global campaign theme for IMD 2023 is ZERO MALE SUICIDE. The campaign aims to:

• raise awareness of the male suicide rate, which is 3 times higher than women’s[1]
• promote guidance to help improve men’s mental health.

Doing our part

Energy Assets also recognises that according to research[2] the construction industry has higher rates of male suicide – over 4 times the national average, and those numbers are, unfortunately, rising.  We’re committed to the safety and well-being of all of our employees and, as a leading national construction company, we’ve taken steps to safeguard their mental and physical well-being.

Encouraging people to seek help

Our ethos is founded on enabling an appropriate work-life balance, encouraging physical wellbeing and making it easy for every member of the team to receive mental health support. As part of this commitment, we’re developing a network of 24 mental health first aiders to look for telltale signs of stress and anxiety and to help our people access the help they need as soon as possible.

Our approach is to provide the resources to encourage colleagues to recognise symptoms, be proactive in seeking help, and build resilience founded on coping mechanisms.

Being proactive in addressing workplace stress

Work must be the place where we extend a helping hand, which means developing the emotional intelligence and cultural empathy to act.

Taking a pro-active approach can help break down the stigma that is too often associated with mental health issues, particularly it seems in a male-centric environment. For Energy Assets, this action includes training line managers with relevant skills, creating materials to educate and inform, and offering life-skills guidance that not only helps our people manage their own physical and mental wellbeing but also lends support to their wider circle of friends and family.

Creating a supportive environment

A lot of good work is underway among construction groups and charities, including The Lighthouse Charity, with resources such as toolbox talks freely available. The ‘Make It Visible Portal’ and app provides free access to information, advice and guidance covering emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing. While, outside of the construction industry, Andy’s Man Club also offers free support groups across the UK and online.  

In addition to our mental health first-aiders, we offer support for counselling where needed and have set up a mental health committee to promote a better understanding of stress and anxiety across the organisation.

Marking International Men’s Day

These initiatives are part of a long-term plan to make meaningful and permanent changes that will benefit our existing and future colleagues, male or female. They’re small steps that can make a huge difference. There’s a lot of work still to be done within the wider utilities and construction sector, but we aim to be an industry leader in every way, mental health and employee well-being included.

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This post reflects Samaritans’ media guidelines for writing about suicide, notably by acknowledging the complexities of this issue and encouraging people to seek help.

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[1] Internationalmensday.com

[2] Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), in conjunction with the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity study link