[Photo credit: Jacksonville Public Library]
International Men’s Day is a relatively unknown day in comparison to International Women’s Day, but if we need to move towards true gender equality as a society, then acknowledging and addressing the issues unique to each gender is important. A dedicated Men’s Day is a welcome step in that direction.
Each year highlights a unique theme, but the overall message is to celebrate the positive value men bring to the world, their families, and communities.
Celebrated on November 19th, this year’s theme is “Helping Men and Boys.” The initiatives around this include suicide prevention of men as well as raising awareness for men’s health and wellbeing. This couldn’t come at a more pressing time, with data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) showing that over twice as many men die due to suicide in comparison to women.
There seems to be awareness setting in among men, with over 3 in 5 men (63%) feeling that investing in oneself is a good change to have emerged from the pandemic. This is just marginally lower than women feeling the same (66%), so it is certainly welcome news!
The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth not just physical but mental health concerns, which affected all genders and age groups. However, it also brought about a need in understanding our close relationships, and how we take care of our personal interactions with loved ones. A recent Blackbox poll showed that 60% people feel that how we manage our personal relations is a good change to have emerged from the pandemic. The percentage of men who feel this (63%) beat the average so that’s heartening, but a substantial 30% are still “neutral” or “indifferent” to this, which means more work around awareness is still required.
Men and Mental Health
While traditional gender roles are changing, in many societies, men are still expected to be primary breadwinners, and given the uncertain economic climate, this certainly puts pressure on men if they are unable to adequately meet their family’s needs. This financial stress is compounded by the mental health concerns that such situations bring, from anxiety to helplessness. While growing discussions around mental concerns as a result of the pandemic finds approval among well over half (57%) of the men polled in our survey, there is still hesitancy among many men to open up about their issues as there’s still the unfortunate perceptions that “emotions are a sign of weakness.” The belief that such topics are ‘woke’ and not worth paying attention to also further fuels the stigma around seeking help.
Possible measures to soften the stigma
While there have been steps taken to address mental health concerns in general and at the workplace, we aren’t ‘there’ yet. If mental health is to truly be taken seriously by all genders, then families and organisations need to shun any toxic masculinity notions and bring men’s health concerns on an equal footing. Leadership is often seen as only about making tough decisions, but there are increasing reports of those even in C-level positions expressing burnouts, with some even quitting corporate culture altogether and embracing a ‘slower’ approach to life and work. The way forward, however, isn’t about more people leaving the corporate world, but rather focussing on a culture that encourages time off as much as it rewards hard work. Eventually, it’s all about striking a balance and we are still quite far away from that.
Mental health, across genders, is not something that can be taken lightly anymore. For it affects everything from individual productivity to overall business performance. For more of our insights around this topic and to understand how they can be turned into strategies for your line of work, reach out to us at connect@blackbox.com.sg
Author: Blackbox Research Team
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