Men's Health Week 2026: How employers can support the men on their teams

Men's Health Week, organised by the Men's Health Forum, runs from 15 to 21 June 2026 [1]. For employers, it offers a useful focal point to review how well existing wellbeing provision reaches the men on their teams, and to identify changes that could improve engagement and outcomes year-round.

The data suggests this matters. Men experience mental and physical health conditions at broadly similar rates to women but tend to seek help less often. Around 75% of suicides registered in England and Wales in 2023 were male, and suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 50 in the UK [2]. Yet only around 36% of referrals to NHS Talking Therapies are men [3], and just over half of men say they would consider seeing a GP about a mental health concern.

The workplace pattern follows a similar shape. In November 2025, the UK government announced the first Men's Health Strategy for England, citing the impact of men's health on "families, workplaces and communities" [4]. Employers sit at a useful point of influence: a place where men spend a significant share of their adult life, where preventative information can reach them at scale, and where small adjustments to communication, manager training, and flexibility can support better engagement with health services.

This article sets out what recent UK research shows about men's health at work, where common gaps appear, and the practical steps employers can take.

Summary

• Men's Health Week 2026 runs from 15 to 21 June, providing employers with a focused window to review wellbeing provision and engagement among male staff [1].
• Around 75% of suicide deaths in England and Wales are male, and suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50 [2].
• Men are less likely to access psychological therapies - only 36% of NHS Talking Therapies referrals are men [3].
• UK Employee Assistance Programme data shows 56% of calls are made by women and just 29.5% by men, pointing to gendered patterns in engagement with workplace mental health support [5].
• Only 37% of eligible men have ever been invited for an NHS Health Check; workplace information was a notable factor in encouraging younger and ethnic minority men to attend [6].
• Presenteeism reached a post-pandemic high in 2025, reported by 38% of UK businesses, with poor mental wellbeing estimated to cost UK employers £42-£45 billion annually [7].
• Sector matters: construction, agriculture, and the armed forces have elevated suicide rates among men, suggesting targeted support is more effective than generic provision [8].
• Low-cost actions for employers include reviewing how visibly wellbeing support is communicated, signposting NHS Health Checks, offering paid time off for medical appointments, and training line managers to recognise early signs of distress.

Why men's health at work tends to need separate consideration

Workplace wellbeing initiatives often perform unevenly across gender. Research from the UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association reports that 56% of calls to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) are made by women and only 29.5% by men, with the remainder unspecified [5]. The same pattern appears across NHS Talking Therapies and routine GP attendance. Mental Health UK reports that men are significantly less likely to access psychological therapies, and 50% of men have struggled with mental health difficulties at some point - yet fewer than half have sought medical advice, with 37% saying they have actively hidden symptoms from those around them [2].

The reasons are well documented in research, including stigma, concern about career impact, and cultural expectations around self-reliance. For employers, the practical implication is that simply providing a wellbeing service does not guarantee it will be used equally across the workforce. Reviewing how services are communicated, who they reach, and whether engagement is monitored by gender can help identify where adjustments may be useful.

The physical health picture

Mental health often dominates the conversation around men's wellbeing, but physical health follows a similar pattern. Men in the UK have a life expectancy around four years shorter than women, with much of the gap attributed to preventable conditions. Men tend to attend GP appointments less frequently than women and engage less consistently with preventative screening.

Healthwatch England's June 2025 nationally representative poll of 3,575 men found that only 37% of eligible men had ever been invited for an NHS Health Check, although 92% of those who attended would go again, and 79% said they would attend screening if it were introduced routinely by the NHS [6]. The same research found that younger and ethnic minority men were particularly likely to be encouraged to attend through information shared at their workplace, suggesting employers can play a useful role in raising awareness of NHS preventative services.

What current UK workplace data shows

The 2025 wellbeing picture for UK workers is mixed. The Mental Health UK Burnout Report 2025 found that around 9 in 10 UK workers reported high or extreme levels of stress in the past year [7]. Presenteeism - working when unwell or beyond contracted hours - was reported by 38% of UK businesses in 2025, the highest level recorded since that survey began.

Poor mental wellbeing is estimated to cost UK employers between £42 billion and £45 billion annually, primarily through presenteeism, sickness absence, and turnover [9]. The CIPD's 2025 Health and Wellbeing at Work report found that just over half of employees feel their organisation is supportive of mental health, with many feeling underserved, and over two-thirds saying their line manager is open and approachable on mental health issues - a useful indicator of where workplace support tends to begin in practice [10].

Sector-specific considerations

Certain sectors carry elevated risk for the men who work in them. Research summarised by Mental Health First Aid Course suggests construction workers face suicide rates approximately 3.7 times higher than the general population, with agriculture, farming, and the armed forces also showing raised rates [8]. Contributing factors commonly cited include long hours, physical isolation, occupational cultures emphasising self-reliance, and reduced access to support in rural or operational settings.

For employers in these sectors, generic wellbeing communications may be less effective than targeted approaches. Industry-specific charities and partnerships can provide sector-relevant support.

• Construction: Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity operates a 24/7 helpline and on-site wellbeing services.
• Construction and trades: Mates in Mind provides workplace mental health programmes designed around construction sector culture and shift patterns.
• Agriculture: The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) and the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) offer support specifically for farming communities.
• Armed forces and veterans: Combat Stress and SSAFA provide specialist mental health support.

Practical actions for employers

The actions below are intended as options to consider rather than a prescriptive list. The most appropriate combination will depend on workforce size, sector, existing provision, and the gaps identified through internal review.

Review how visibly support is communicated

Wellbeing services tend to perform better when they are easy to find. A useful starting point is to audit how a new starter or existing employee would access mental health support today: how many clicks from the intranet homepage, whether information appears in routine communications such as payslips or team channels, and whether the language used in promotional material is likely to resonate with employees who don't currently engage.

Crisis lines, Employee Assistance Programme details, and signposting to NHS Talking Therapies can usefully appear in multiple locations rather than only within wellbeing-specific resources. Communications that reference health in routine business contexts - induction, monthly team meetings, manager one-to-ones - can help reduce the sense that raising a concern requires waiting for an awareness week.

Signpost the NHS Health Check

NHS Health Checks are free for adults aged 40-74 in England and screen for early signs of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and stroke. Healthwatch's research suggests workplace information is one of the more effective ways to encourage younger and ethnic minority men to attend [6].

Practical options include:

• including NHS Health Check information in induction packs, internal newsletters, and Men's Health Week communications
• offering paid time off for the appointment, which Healthwatch identified as a common barrier
• working with occupational health providers to run on-site health screening days, where workforce size makes this viable
• promoting other preventative information, including testicular cancer self-checks for younger men and prostate cancer awareness for men over 50.

Train line managers to recognise early signs

Mental health concerns are often disclosed first to line managers. CIPD research indicates that over two-thirds of employees see their line manager as open and approachable on mental health issues, but training varies considerably across organisations [10]. Manager training that includes how distress may present differently - for example, irritability, withdrawal, working excessive hours, or increased alcohol use - can support earlier intervention.

Accredited training options in the UK include:

• MHFA England's Mental Health First Aid (MHFAider) course: two-day course covering recognition, conversation, and signposting skills
• MHFA England's Mental Health Skills for Managers course: shorter format focused specifically on line manager responsibilities
• Mates in Mind training programmes: workplace-focused programmes, particularly suited to construction and trades
• free awareness resources: many providers, including the Men's Health Forum, Mind, and Samaritans, offer free posters, conversation guides, and toolkits employers can use to supplement formal training.

Review flexibility around appointments

Healthwatch's 2025 research suggests inflexibility around appointment times is a common reason men give for not attending GP visits or Health Checks [6]. Routine appointments tend to fall during working hours, which can be a barrier for staff in shift-based, customer-facing, or site-based roles.

Reviewing whether existing policies clearly allow paid time off for medical appointments - including mental health appointments - can help reduce this barrier. The same principle applies to bereavement leave, paternity leave, and care-related leave, where take-up among eligible male employees can be lower than entitlement suggests.

Support beyond Men's Health Week

Men's Health Week 2026 provides a focused window for awareness activity, but the underlying work tends to be year-round. Single-week campaigns can usefully launch sustained activity - manager training, policy reviews, communication audits - rather than acting as a standalone intervention.

The most effective combination will depend on the organisation, but the principle is consistent: provision that is visible, accessible, and supported by trained managers tends to perform better than provision that exists on paper but is rarely used. For employers reviewing their wellbeing offer in advance of June 2026, Men's Health Week offers a helpful prompt to consider what's working, what could be improved, and which small changes might make the biggest practical difference.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information is accurate at the time of writing but may be subject to change. For advice specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.

[1] Men's Health Forum, Men's Health Week 2026, 2026.

[2] Mates in Mind, Men's Health Week UK: 15-21 June 2026 resources, 2026.

[3] Vita Health Group, Men's Mental Health Month 2025, November 2025.

[4] UK Parliament Hansard, Men's Health Strategy for England debate, 19 November 2025.

[5] UK Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA UK), Why don't more men use the EAP?.

[6] Healthwatch England, Men's Health: How to improve health outcomes, knowledge and behaviours, November 2025.

[7] Mental Health First Aid England, How do we tackle presenteeism in the workplace?, June 2025.

[8] Mental Health First Aid Course, Men's Mental Health Statistics UK, April 2026.

[9] NatWest Mentor, Developing employee wellbeing initiatives in the workplace, 2025.

[10] CIPD, Health and Wellbeing at Work Report 2025.