Often men’s health, and in particular mental health, gets overlooked. In the main this is due to stigma, masking and an inability to talk about taboo subjects. This is exactly why we are addressing some hard-hitting health issues affecting men in the workplace, offering easy to implement strategies that will create impact and engagement. Here’s just a few of the sessions to look forward to at this year’s Health and Wellbeing at Work at the NEC in March.
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Encouraging Men to Speak Up
Network Rails’ John Sidebotham is a bit of an unsung hero. He has been running sessions open to all employees providing an opportunity to discuss big issues that impact our wider lives, believing that “if we actively promote the view that if we can talk about the big things, whether around faiths and beliefs or dealing with cancer, then we can be open when things aren’t going quite as planned. That then enables us to find great solutions working collaboratively with our customers and each other.” He will discuss sessions he has run on unconscious bias, tackling racism, miscarriage, menopause, prostate cancer, listening skills with Samaritans, living with profound deafness, neurodiversity, including autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, transgender awareness, Seasonal Affective Disorder, anxiety and depression, domestic abuse, grief, amongst a host of other issues that need to be spoken about openly. It is no wonder that his work is so instrumental in providing a safety net and much needed pastoral support.
Re-energising the Workforce to Improve Resilience
Health and Wellbeing expert Robert Manson explains how he has transformed the post-COVID mental health culture at global energy giant RWE. “It was really clear to see from the outset how health and wellbeing issues were impacting the Company and the urgent need to undertake a stress risk assessment on a global scale. The resulting culture change programme needed to align with the vision for the business but probably most challenging of all was the ability to deliver across different cultures and business requirements.” Join Robert and find out just how he managed to achieve health and wellbeing improvements with a demonstrable impact on company productivity.
Turning PTSD into a Strength
After experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Police Constable Sean Burridge is passionate about improving the understanding of mental health within the workplace. Sean has been highly commended within the police force and leads support groups, organises training and works late shifts as a Mental Health First Aider to ensure he’s available when officers are at their most vulnerable. Sean’s journey through PTSD ultimately gave him a better understanding of mental health and he now encourages others to see the condition as a strength rather than a weakness.
Addressing Men’s Mental Health in Sport
EAPA’s Eugene Farrell joins Former Rugby Player Tony Underwood to discuss why men find it difficult to talk about their emotions and mental health. They profile examples from aviation as well as Tony’s personal experience within the field of sport and its relevance to building resilience on an individual and business level.
Nurturing OSH Culture
All organisations are reflections of the people who belong to them. Workers’ responsiveness to leaders' and managers' requests is determined by the cultures of communication and behaviour developed over time. For occupational safety and health professionals, understanding the culture is an important step towards developing successful interventions. Join IOSH President Lawrence Webb as he explores the way that core OSH values can be used to influence culture and help form the inclusive, responsible and socially sustainable organisations of the future. You can also chat with IOSH colleagues on stand 74 at the event.
See full conference programme and register at www.healthwellbeingwork.co.uk
