How to start a conversation.

November is Men’s Health month and it’s an opportunity to take action to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.

Globally, men die on average 5 years earlier than women, and for reasons that are largely preventable. But it doesn’t have to be that way: we can all take action to live healthier, happier, and longer lives with a few simple adjustments to our thinking and our behaviour. This includes getting men talking more about their health.

With most of us spending one-third of our lives at work, there’s a huge opportunity to start that conversation in the workplace. Better conversations can help you support the men in your life. Whether it's a friend in need, a colleague who's not coping or a family member who isn't himself.

As a Mental Health First Aider I’ve learnt helping and knowing what to say isn’t always as intimidating as it might seem. It can be as easy as using the ALEC model to navigate a conversation with someone who might be struggling.

• Start by ASKING how they are feeling.
• Let them know you're LISTENING and give them your full attention.
• ENCOURAGE them to focus on simple things that could improve how they feel.
• CHECK IN with them after your chat.

These workplace conversations are sorely needed too! Our friends at St John Ambulance, found that eight in ten workers feel that their mental health is worse or more varied as a result of the last year, 90% are concerned about a colleagues mental health, and 44% have considered leaving their job for their mental wellbeing.

Over We Are Acuity’s 20 plus years working in a highly pressured and stressful industry, we quickly realised how important our people’s mental health was for the best results and a happy team. We found that we needed to…

• Understand everyone is different
• Strengthen purpose and culture
• Make supporting each other normal
• Enable recognition and praise
• Improve communication

If you’d like to know more about the measures, We Are Acuity have put in place to support our people’s mental health and wellbeing here’s a Mental Health Webinar we did last year with St Johns Ambulance with some simple tips that you could also follow. 

This is an ongoing project and one that will never be completed, but by having mental health high on We Are Acuity’s agenda, we’ve found it’s really improved how we work, why we work and what we achieve together. It’s all about being the best we can be. Give it a try?

#mentalhealth #movember2021 #savelocalbusiness