BeyondBlue: Men@Work Program

Introduction

Many Australians spend more than a third of their day at work and often endure long commutes, in addition some men are obliged to undertake the most dangerous and strenuous work in unsafe environments. Factors contributing to work stress include: high demands, lack of control, job insecurity, long work hours and work overload.

Excessive stress can interfere with productivity and may impact on physical and emotional health. Productivity will increase when taking short breaks throughout the day. More and more workplaces are integrating practices that enhance the wellbeing of their employees. There is increasing recognition that healthy workplaces result in fewer compensation claims, higher productivity, happier staff and reduced employee turnover.

At MHIRC we recognise that work is an important social determinant of health and we wholeheartedly endorse this new initiative.

Men@Work Program

The Men@Work program is a workplace mental health program that will enable Australian men to receive better mental health support at work.

This new program is funded by BeyondBlue with donations from the Movember foundation. It will be trialled among 60 000 men working in industries such as farming, construction and emergency services such as fire fighters. As part of this program managers will be trained to develop the confidence to approach a worker they are concerned about.

With this smartphone app, men working in male-dominated industries will be able to develop personalised mental health plans that they can update to assess their mental health and use them to improve their wellbeing.