Men in the UK face particular health issues, so much so the Government has made plans to introduce the country’s first Men’s Health Strategy 1 to tackle them.
According to the evidence collected to inform the new strategy, men are dying on average 4.5 years earlier than women - and for largely preventable reasons.
They’re disproportionately affected by a number of health conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. They’re also more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours linked to disease, including smoking, gambling, alcohol consumption and substance misuse. At the same time they are less likely to access talking therapies or attend health checks than women.
Understanding the health issues men face, and targeting them in the workplace is key in supporting their health, and ultimately their productivity.
Men’s health in numbers
- 3 in 4 suicides deaths are men 2,and it is the biggest cause of death in men under the age of 50
- 45-49 years 3 – the age at which men are most at risk of suicide
- 67% 4 of men are overweight (compared to 61% of women)
- 13.4% 5 of men smoke, compared to 9.9% of women
- 91.2 6 – male rate of drug misuse deaths compared to a rate of 36.2 per million for women
- 25% 7 – the age-standardised incidence of cancer for men in England is 25% higher than for women
- 3% 8 – the percentage of men attending an NHS health check compared to 54.7% of women
- 1 in 8 9 – the number of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
- 100% vs 50% 10 – the 5 year survival rate when diagnosed at Stage 1 versus Stage 4
- 2,400 cases 11 – cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed in the UK each year.
- 16.4 million 12 – working day were due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2023/24
- £51 billion 13 – estimated annual cost to UK employers of poor mental health including sickness absence, staff turnover, and presenteeism
- 36% 14 – the number of employees who think their employer provides adequate mental health support.
How businesses can support men’s health
1. Take part in health campaigns
Encouraging men to understand, talk about and act on health issues is really important. Health campaigns like Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in March, Testicular Cancer Awareness Month in April, World Mental Health Day on October 10 and Movember in November are a great excuse to talk about key health issues.
Company-wide activities might include fundraising challenges, health awareness webinars or events, intranet articles - or just posters of signs and symptoms on the back of loo doors.
2. Lead from the top
Creating a workplace culture that supports men to talk about their health and address health issues openly has to start from the top.
Ask your leadership team to get involved in health campaigns, talk about their own health, and be a visible and vocal part of your health and wellbeing initiatives. They can help you tackle issues like presenteeism, mental health stigma, and fear of testing or examinations – all key barriers stopping men seeking out health support.
3. Provide regular training for managers
Train line managers to have supportive conversations about health and mental health, and signpost clearly to both internal and external support resources.
They should understand policies about flexible working so they can make reasonable adjustments to facilitate medical appointments or changes in working patterns or duties. Things like flexible hours, phased returns, quiet spaces and regular breaks can help employees stay in work while they navigate their health issue and recovery.
4. Review policies, processes and procedures
Organisations can support line managers by creating policies, processes and procedures to follow.
Start by making sure things like your sickness absence and return to work policies are up-to-date, and consider building health and wellbeing considerations into things like job design, project and resource planning, risk assessments and contingency planning.
That might look like establishing clear roles, manageable workloads, and realistic deadlines, reviewing high-pressure roles, or redistributing resources around peak periods or project milestones.
It’s also important to put in place ways to measure and monitor health and wellbeing - for instance by gauging stress and engagement in staff surveys, or tracking absence patterns and turnover. If you’ve got real data, you’ve got information that can help shape your health and wellbeing strategy and actions.
5. Communicate about resources available
All of your health and wellbeing campaigns, initiatives and benefits - like your EAP or Equipsme plan - can only work for your workforce if they know about them.
Your communications are therefore absolutely vital in driving awareness and use of your systems and resources - and actually supporting people when they need to use them.
At Equipsme, we’ve found that regular reminders, information and clarification can make a huge difference to engagement. We work with businesses throughout the cycle of their plan to reach their employees with messages that resonate, address common questions, and support understanding and use of our plans.
Talk to us at [email protected] about how we can help you spread the word to your workforce.
How Equipsme supports men’s health
At Equipsme, it’s our aim to speed up access to healthcare support and diagnosis. That means our products and services can often cut through some of the barriers that men face. Here’s how:
1. 24/7 GP Service
If your employees can’t get an appointment with their NHS GP that suits their working hours, or if they’re worried about talking to someone in person, our virtual GP service is there 24/7.
Most appointments are made within 24 hours, there’s no time limit on the consultation, and the 24/7 Health Hero GPs can issue private referral letters that can be submitted as part of a claim to find out if the condition and treatment is covered.
People also have the choice to speak to a male or female GP.
2. Physiotherapy sessions
Equipsme plans come with access to MSK specialists and physiotherapy sessions, that can help employees get twinges, strains or more serious muscle, ligament and tendon issues assessed by the claims team at AXA Health. If covered (i.e., not a pre-existing condition or otherwise excluded), they can help people find a local physiotherapist for treatment.
3. Stress Support EAP line
If your company has chosen it as part of your plan, our stress support EAP line from Health Assured is there to support people with mental health issues. It’s confidential - and it’s not just about work-place stress. Qualified counsellors are on hand to talk about relationship issues, debt, legal problems, generalised depression and anxiety.
4. Diagnosis and treatment
If diagnosis and/or treatment is part of their plan, it means employees have a fast track to specialist health support through AXA Health. If their claim is covered (i.e., not a pre-existing condition or otherwise excluded), they can see a consultant at a private hospital and get the health tests and answers they need, faster.
5. Health checks through Thriva
All Equipsme members have access to a 20% discount off Thriva at-home health tests. These include a male hormone test which checks things like testosterone levels, liver health, cholesterol, and more – and a PSA test, which can help diagnose prostate issues.
6. Heart health and cancer support lines
If someone gets diagnosed with a heart condition or with cancer, Equipsme gives them access to a dedicated cardiology and cancer support lines, with specialists who can talk them through their diagnosis and treatment options.
With regard to cancer specifically, the Equipsme plan provides cover for eligible claims up to the point of a cancer diagnosis but does not pay for private treatment of cancer.
Useful articles for members:
Men’s health
How Equipsme supports men’s health
What is prostate cancer?
5 common urology issues for men
What is a PSA test?
How to check your testicles
How to use Equipsme plans
Find out more about using the GP Service
Find out more about how to get physiotherapy support through Equipsme
Find out more about how to use the Stress Support line
Find out how to use Equipsme diagnosis services
Find out more about how to use Equipsme treatment services
Find out more about home health tests
Find out more about the cancer support line
Find out more about the heart health support line
All our information is desk-based research from credible sources only, including the NHS, Cancer Research, and registered medical/disease charities.
References
1 www.gov.uk
2 www.gov.uk
3 www.anxiousminds.co.uk
4 digital.nhs.uk
5 www.gov.uk/government/statistics
6 www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity
7 researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk
8 bmjopen.bmj.com
9 prostatecanceruk.org
10 Survival of prostate cancer | Cancer Research UK
11 www.cancerresearchuk.org
12 Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2024
13 Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year for employees | Deloitte UK
14 The Mental Health Trust Gap Between Employers and Employees
Date created: October 2025
