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Around 1.5 million Australian men identify as having a mental or behavioural condition, however, men still fall woefully behind women when it comes to seeking help, according to data released on Friday, by leading not-for-profit Employee Assistance Program, AccessEAP.
Men made up just one third of over 11,000 calls made to AccessEAP seeking support for mental wellbeing in the first quarter of the year. Their concerns were significantly varied with anxiety (17%), relationship with partner (14%) and depression (14%) at the top of the list of their personal concerns. Meanwhile workplace stress (15%), career issues (10%), and fear of loss of job (8%), were the leading work problems, with 12% considering resigning from their job.
Men’s reluctance to seek help for this range of issues could be due to a lack of awareness when it comes to counselling options, suggests Marcela Slepica, Clinical Services Director at AccessEAP.
“We visit hundreds of business places each year to discuss workplace mental health programs and one of the barriers we see men face is the concern that they’ll have to discuss their feelings or talk in person about their childhood. While EAPs do offer face to face counselling support, it’s important that workplaces educate their male employees that programs can be catered for them. This could include telephone, email or video chat based assistance, with practical actionable coping strategies.”
With Men’s Health Week (June 11th-17th) promoting a healthy body and mind, AccessEAP, which supports and develops positive organisational behaviour and mental health management, is doing its part in building awareness in some of the more male orientated workplaces.
“We want to give men the tools to ensure their own wellbeing and remove the stigma of taking care of your mental health. You wouldn’t build a house without tools, so why build a life without them?” said Ms Slepica.
The first tool is simply to talk. “Male dominated workplaces can hold a ‘macho’ culture, where opening up is perceived as a sign of weakness or vulnerability. Worryingly, this type of masculinity encourages men to bottle up their feelings, leading to feelings building up and potentially has the ability to undermining their mental health.”
Toolbox Talks
One way Ms Slepica gets men to talk about their mental well-being is AccessEAP’s toolbox talks. These sessions focus on increasing awareness of mental health issues and to show men that everyone needs help from time to time.
“I’m always struck by the immediate power of these discussions. Often at the beginning of a session, we struggle to get men to talk but by the end, they can be reluctant to leave and I’ve witnessed discussion among participants about issues that they are experiencing in their personal or work life long after the session has ended,” she said.
For those that don’t have access to group discussions, or prefer a more private forum, help is at hand. “My biggest piece of advice for mental well-being is to talk. You may not be ready to speak to someone in person and that’s OK, call or email, there are organisations which can connect with you in a way that you’re comfortable for you. The key is to start talking.”
Men’s Health Week is the perfect opportunity for managers and employees to educate themselves about the behaviours that may indicate a colleague is going through a tough time and ways to encourage them to seek help if you’re concerned for their welfare.
For additional information on how to address men’s mental health, visit:
- www.accesseap.com.au
- Men’s Health Information & Resource Centre at Western Sydney University
- www.menshealthweek.org.au
