On November 19th we celebrate International Men’s Day – a worldwide movement that focuses on raising awareness of men’s well-being and the theme for 2023 is “Zero Male Suicide”.
Suicide affects all genders and although it’s not always helpful to generalise we cannot ignore some startling facts when it comes to male suicide:
- 74% of all suicides in the UK involve men.
- The second biggest cause of death in young males (1-19 years old) with men aged 45-64 having the highest rate of suicide by age.
- The rate of suicide in men is over three times higher than in women and in 2020 alone 4,639 men took their own life in the UK.
- In the UK only 36% of referrals to the United Kingdom National Health Service for talk therapy are for men.
There are a number of contributing factors for someone to take such drastic action including relationships, other health conditions (mental and physical), financial pressures, substance abuse but did you know a negative work environment can also be a factor?
So, what can organisations do?
- Review your wellbeing/sickness policies – are these inclusive to male employees? Do they cover suicide specifically, including attempts?
- Internal training and awareness building. Andy’s Man Club – https://andysmanclub.co.uk/ – are a male prevention suicide charity who deliver talks and sessions to organisations – free of charge.
- Having accessible resources available to all employees including signs that we all should look out for. (As a starting point consider MIND – https://www.mind.org.uk/, Papyrus – https://www.papyrus-uk.org/ and The Priory Group- https://www.priorygroup.com/)
- Ensure that your organisation has partnered with specialists within mental health so that any conversations being had with those who are having or are suspected as having suicidal thoughts are being done in the right way with the right level of care and sensitivity.
- Foster a culture in which mental health is a conversation employees feel comfortable talking about, including raising concerns about themselves or others.
Suicide is a very complex and sensitive issue however this should never stop individuals and organisations from openly talking about it – the more “normal” we make the conversation then the more likely someone will speak up, seek help and ultimately save lives.
Follow the link to UK Men’s Day: https://ukmensday.org.uk/