What it takes to be a man

Guest article by Chris McBride

There is a lot of nonsense you hear in the world. Boys don't cry, only men can work in warehouses, older males don't have career aspirations, to name a few.

Marking?International Men's Day?gives us an opportunity?to look at how these antiquated views harm men's health.

I am a business leader and it's inevitable I will be put under pressure on a regular basis.

I've learnt what works for me to deal with it, but others might not feel able to even acknowledge there's a problem.

It's a sad fact that one in three men will suffer with a mental health episode in their lifetime. And suicide in England and Wales is three times more common among men than women, with this gap widening over time, according to Government figures.

This statistic hits hard for me. I lost my dad to suicide 10 years ago when he was aged 58. He was the rock of our family, a strong man we all looked up to. His death was devastating for me, my siblings and the rest of our family, and I dare say if he had better outlets to communicate his emotions then maybe that wouldn't have happened. But it did.

International Men's Day for me is a reminder that men might be strong, masculine and brave, but we're also human, and we have emotions.

As a leader, workplace wellbeing is really important. Research suggests 40% of men have never spoken about their mental health. Providing the opportunity to talk is vital and at the company I founded, Genuine Solutions, we partner up with a professional employee assistance programme so we offer more than just tea and sympathy.

We also kick off our regular one to ones with a check-in, and we have a mental health first aider on site.

Empathetic leadership is also at our core and businesses can only benefit from taking this approach.

Cynics might see the word empathy and think 'weak', 'workplaces need to be cold', but frankly, all the research points to the opposite.

Studies show empathetic leaders boost productivity, reduce employee turnover and foster innovation.

In one study, 76% of employees with empathetic leaders were highly engaged and 61% were often or always innovative. This compared to 32% and 13% respectively for those who did not have empathetic leaders.

Another study found 85% said they were more productive with an empathetic leader.?

At Genuine Solutions, a mobile phone recovery and redistribution business, I'm a little blind to old fashioned views. It's just not how we operate. I like to think our performance speaks for itself - we win awards every year and have brilliant staff retention. We invest in our people and work really hard to build trust and loyalty, which helps breed innovation.

Leaders need to foster the type of culture where staff lower down the hierarchy can be open if they're struggling. If someone is feeling unwell they should feel brave enough to phone their manager and say ‘I'm finding things really challenging today and I need to work from home instead’, or ‘I'm feeling really burnt out and can't come in’.

If employee wellbeing feels like a hard sell during tough economic conditions, consider this statistic: 18 million work days are lost each year to poor mental health. Tackling issues when they arise, by creating that safe environment, will prevent problems escalating in many cases.

When it comes to my own mental wellbeing, when I'm going through a stressful period I make sure I’m carving out time for the gym and I don't drink alcohol. After a hard day, an energetic weights session can sometimes feel like the last thing you want to do, but I know it will make me feel good, whereas that glass of wine will not.

What works to maintain your mental health is individual. But one thing all leaders need to do is have regular check-ins with themselves and take action if they're not feeling their best.

International Men's Day might cop a bit of flack in some circles, but as a man who has seen the worst impacts of poor mental health in men, it's really important we raise awareness and break down barriers around this.

If we can improve the quality of people's lives then I'm all for it.

This blog was first published on the Voice At The Table website ?

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