While seven in 10 men say they would talk to someone if they were struggling with their mental health, just 6% would turn to their employer.
This is according to research from Aviva to mark International Men’s Health Week taking place between 10 and 16 June which found the same number of women said that they would talk to someone about their mental health.
There were also similarities between the sexes on where they would turn for support.
Around half (45%) of men said that they would talk to their GP if they were struggling with their mental health, compared to just over half of women (51%). A quarter of men (25%) and slightly more (26%) women, would talk to their partner.
Fewer than one in 10 (6%) men said that they would discuss their mental health struggles with their employer, while even fewer women (4%) said the same.
A third of men (33%) claimed that they never discuss mental health in the workplace, which was consistent with the women’s research findings.
However, around two thirds (64%) of men and a similar number (61%) of women, who had talked to their employer said that they were helpful.
When it comes to sickness absence, just over half of the men surveyed (51%) said that they have taken time off work because of their mental health in the past three months, while close to a third of women had taken time off for mental health concerns over the same period (32%).
Fewer than one in six (15%) men and women told their employer that they were off work for mental health reasons.
Men were as likely as their female colleagues to engage with the virtual GP service (49%) and health check (52%) available on the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app, provided by Square Health. But when it came to mental health support, the trend shifted towards females.
Just over a third (38%) of mental health consultations booked via the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app in 2023 were for men.
Similarly, just under two in five (39%) requests for support from the employee assistance programme available to members on Aviva’s group protection policies were from males.
Dr Doug Wright, medical director at Aviva UK Health, (pictured) said: “It’s important that employers create a psychologically safe environment where people feel confident discussing their mental health.
“This can be nurtured by leaders sharing their own stories to help normalise the topic, encouraging open and honest conversations and creating ‘safe places’ for people to discuss how they’re feeling.
“Line managers also have a key role to play. While they can’t ‘fix’ the mental health problem, they can play a crucial role by listening to the individual, directing them to appropriate support and making workplace adjustments to help with their recovery.
“Finally, communication is key. You can’t force an individual to talk, but you can make it easy for them to find and access support if they need it.”