19 November 202419 November 2024

Championing wellbeing and development of men in the utilities industry on International men’s day

Today, International Men’s Day is celebrated worldwide to highlight the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities. The theme for 2024 is “positive male role models” ¹.

International Men’s Day is therefore a good time to outline how we support our colleagues, who are predominantly male, to remain safe and healthy, while also promoting men’s mental wellbeing.

Building a workplace culture promoting mental wellbeing

An important fact to remember is that maintaining mental wellbeing at work is part of a strong health and safety focused culture.  However, within the male-oriented construction and utilities sectors we operate within, help-seeking behaviors don’t always come as naturally.

We have a team of internal Mental Health First Aiders, trained to look for telltale signs of stress and anxiety and to help our people access the help they need, as soon as possible. We also offer learning modules focused on providing a greater understanding of mental health issues and what colleagues can do for themselves and others.

We have a mentorship culture, particularly within the field, designed to help keep our team strong and connected to each other. Mentorship can be priceless, not only do experienced team members develop skills and best practice in others, mentorship also creates the opportunity for conversations about well-being to happen.

We also know a healthy work-life balance is vital, and take a flexible approach wherever we can to support it. We have a range of policies to govern how it works in practice, and have put in place various initiatives to promote it.

It’s well reported that people also prefer to work for organisations who have a positive impact on society and the environment – and that this alignment in values can play on their mind. Colleagues like to see how their contribution during the working day goes some way to doing good outside of their working environment.

A positive social and environmental focus is ingrained in the Energy Assets culture – from how we operate, to the propositions we offer. It’s a constant topic of conversation.

We have a range of initiatives in flight to continuously improve our social impact. Such as, supporting a panel of local charities, chosen by colleagues. Office-based colleagues also get the opportunity to take a paid volunteering day each year to help the local community.

We have a strategy and plan in place to reduce our emissions and some of our propositions in turn help our customers to do the same.

Our colleagues can take pride that we’re focused on the future of our environment and doing our bit to help the nation on the road to Net Zero.

Read more about our ESG focus

Read more about our workplace culture

Resources and help

If you’re experiencing mental health issues, support is available – including construction-specific resources. Organisations such as Mates in Mind focus on increasing awareness and tackling the stigma related to mental health. The Lighthouse Charity also provides dedicated emotional, physical, and financial support for construction workers and their families. Additionally, outside of the construction and utilities industry, Andy’s Man Club offers free support groups across the UK. These are part of a wider range of initiatives to create an environment in which men can feel more comfortable seeking help for problems related to their mental health.

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

Helpline numbers

Samaritans helpline – 116 123

Lighthouse helpline – 0345 605 1956

1)https://internationalmensday.com/about/