Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
Men’s Health Week (June 9–15) highlighted a quiet crisis costing employers billions and threatening today’s workforce: men, often conditioned to tough it out, are staying silent about their mental health.
Globally, depression and anxiety account for a staggering 12 billion lost workdays each year. Deloitte’s State of the State 2025 report shows burnout in sectors such as finance has reached 17%, while 32% of men (across all sectors) cite work pressure — on par with financial strain — as a primary cause of their declining mental health.
Less than one in ten men would disclose mental health struggles to their employer, yet over half of men have silently taken time off to cope.
Alarmingly, 40% say they would wait until experiencing suicidal thoughts before seeking help.
In the U.K., men account for three-quarters of all suicides, many from high-pressure, male-dominated industries where vulnerability is still too often seen as weakness.
With these realities in mind, both business leaders and workers must ask: What does a sustainable, human-centered, and future-ready workplace truly look like, and who might be silently struggling to stay in it?
How Masculine Norms Impact Men’s Mental Health at Work
Men’s mental health at work is a growing problem with serious consequences for individuals, businesses, and society as a whole. Between 2022 and 2024, men’s emotional wellbeing in the U.K. dropped by 13%, and throughout their careers, a staggering 77% of men will experience work-related mental health challenges.
Loneliness further compounds the issue. A recent Gallup poll found that 25% of American men aged 15 to 34 report feeling lonely “a lot,” compared to 18% of women in the same age group and 15% of young men in other high-income OECD countries. Countries with similarly high rates of loneliness among young men include Turkey (29%), France (24%), Ireland (23%), Canada (22%), and Spain (22%).
This isolation fuels daily stress and worry — reported by 57% and 46% of young men, respectively — and increases risks for conditions including depression, dementia, and heart disease.
Many men continue to suffer in silence, held back by barriers that make seeking help feel out of reach. According to recent research from Aviva, just 6% of men disclose mental health issues to their employers. A systematic review from the U.S. National Library of Medicine found that 40% of men do not talk to anyone about their mental wellbeing.
As the Harvard Business Review notes, this silence is rooted in deeply ingrained cultural norms that equate strength with stoicism, emotional toughness, and self-reliance.
Stigma and traditional masculine expectations continue to fuel men’s reluctance to seek help. Many grow up believing that silence is a sign of strength; while vulnerability is a sign of weakness. As a result, 52% feel anxious about taking mental health leave, and 46% feel ashamed to disclose their struggles.
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Data from the U.K.’s mental health services reveals a gender gap, with only 36% of NHS therapy referrals being men — an imbalance worsened in male-dominated industries where under-reporting, stigma, job insecurity, and irregular shifts further limit access and heighten vulnerability.
The consequences are devastating. In the U.K., suicide is the leading cause of death among men under 50. In male-dominated sectors such as construction, transport and mining, rates are even more alarming — up to four times the national average.
Work-related stress remains a leading contributor to poor mental health among men, with 32% citing it as the primary trigger. In the U.K. alone, around 191,000 men report stress, anxiety, or depression due to work each year — equivalent to 1.2% of the male workforce. Yet depression in men is consistently under-recognized and undertreated.
Workplace culture is a major driver. In many environments, the ideal of “manliness” demands toughness, competitiveness, and emotional restraint. Men often feel compelled to prove their worth through self-reliance or aggression — behaviors shaped by “manliness policing” and “masculine anxiety.” These expectations fuel burnout, sleep disruption, and psychological decline.
Ironically, while masculine norms persist, 87% of men say they would rather work in environments that prioritize empathy and kindness over emotional toughness.
Improving men’s mental health at work takes more than awareness: it requires redefining masculinity through strong leadership, education, and inclusive culture.
When men can seek support without shame and speak openly without judgment, both wellbeing and workplace performance will improve.
What It Takes to Improve Men’s Mental Health at Work
A systematic review from the U.S. National Library of Medicine found that in male-dominated sectors, depression in men often goes untreated due to a lack of tailored interventions. To address this, the review calls for sector-specific awareness campaigns, leadership training, and targeted support strategies.
Real progress demands consistent, visible commitment, from leadership behavior to board-level policy and day-to-day practices. Emotional honesty at the top cultivates trust across teams and helps dismantle rigid gender norms.
When male executives, such as Rob Jupp, CEO of Brightstar Finance, speak openly about their mental health, they send a powerful message that vulnerability does not undermine credibility, but rather reinforces it. Leaders who model openness create the psychological safety others need to do the same.
An article in the Harvard Business Review echoes this insight, urging employers to make mental health part of everyday conversation, woven into team meetings, check-ins, and reviews. Leaders must also create confidential spaces where men feel safe to speak freely and ensure all staff receive training in listening without judgment. These everyday practices help break the silence that keeps too many men suffering alone.
Cultural change, however, does not start and stop with individual behavior. Change must be supported by systems that make psychological safety a lived reality across the organization.
Leadership signals only have lasting impact when translated into structures, policies, and practices. Employers must go beyond broad wellness programs; support should be proactive, gender-specific, and embedded into the fabric of daily work life.
Gender-responsive strategies consistently outperform generic approaches, especially when grounded in peer support, shared learning, and meaningful connection.
In a recent Allwork.Space podcast, workplace strategist Josh Allan Dykstra discussed how traditional models often overlook long-term employee wellbeing as a strategic priority, undermining both organizational performance and profitability. This view aligns with a growing recognition in business circles that empathetic workplaces consistently perform well in key metrics such as engagement, retention, and organizational health.
When mental health becomes a governance issue and a key performance indicator (KPI), it gains the focus, resources, and accountability it deserves.
Could Flexible Workspaces Support Men’s Mental Health?
Supporting men’s mental health also means reimagining the environments where they spend most of their time working. Flexible coworking spaces are emerging as the ideal middle ground between conventional offices and remote work setups.
These spaces are not simply different locations; they are purpose-built ecosystems designed to increase connection and promote balance.
For many men, especially fathers, coworking spaces provide a valuable middle ground between home and office. Recent protests in the U.K. calling for at least six weeks of fully paid paternity leave highlight a growing demand for recognition and support.
At the heart of this is the desire for greater control over work and family life. While working from home can bring distractions and isolation, and rigid office settings add pressure, coworking spaces offer structure, flexibility, and a clear boundary between professional and personal life. Local coworking also helps reduce common stressors, such as long commutes and workplace isolation.
Research supports these benefits. Among solo workers, 64% report loneliness and psychological distress, with 17.8% specifically identifying working alone as a significant factor in declining mental wellbeing. Coworking spaces encourage regular social interaction, informal learning, collaboration, and peer support. These forms of connection often feel more approachable for men than formal mental health discussions.
Well-designed coworking environments also promote focus and prevent burnout through ergonomic workstations, natural lighting, and clearly defined work routines. Many spaces go further by offering amenities, including wellness rooms, quiet zones, reliable Wi-Fi, and stress-reducing events, supporting mental health throughout the day.
Make Men’s Mental Health an Imperative for the Future of Work
To meaningfully address men’s mental health and build a more resilient, high-performing workforce, employers must reimagine the structure of work and the foundations of workplace design. This requires action across three key domains: culture, systems, and technology.
1. Cultural redesign:
Psychological safety must become standard, not an exception at work. Without it, men often suppress distress, leading to disengagement, presenteeism, and burnout. Low disclosure rates highlight a cultural problem, not a personal one.
In hybrid teams, emerging practices such as structured activities to cultivate connection and spaces that encourage peer-led conversations are showing promise. These micro-interventions offer daily reinforcement of psychological safety.
2. Fit-for-purpose systems:
There must be an assessment of how current systems account for how men experience and express mental health challenges. Some organizations may need structural overhauls; others can start by introducing discreet support channels, proactive check-ins, or industry-specific programs. In sectors where seeking help is especially stigmatized, such as logistics, engineering, or finance, sector-specific targeting can increase uptake and impact.
3. Tech-enabled human support:
AI tools, chatbots, and predictive analytics can play a role in early identification — if backed by human responsiveness. Used well, tech enhances (not replaces) hands-on support. By collecting data on mental health-related absences and help-seeking behaviors, employers can better understand support needs and shift from reactive responses to proactive wellbeing strategies.
Defining Success: What Progress Looks Like
These are some of the key outcomes organizations can expect when they take men’s mental health seriously — across business performance, workplace culture, and inclusion.
- Tangible business returns: Depression and anxiety already cost the global economy 12 billion workdays annually. Targeted interventions can significantly reduce absenteeism and burnout, delivering measurable productivity gains.
- Better organizational outcomes: Companies with embedded wellbeing strategies see stronger retention, higher engagement, and greater innovation. According to McKinsey Health Institute, investing in employee mental health could unlock $11.7 trillion in global economic value.
- Stronger inclusion outcomes: Gender-specific mental health strategies support men who often underutilize care. Gender-targeted interventions can strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts by closing the gender gap in workplace mental health.
Ireland’s Men’s Health Action Plan 2024–2028 shows what coordinated action can look like. The plan sets a clear precedent for how governments can take gender-specific mental health seriously with its bold, evidence-led framework for improving men’s mental and physical wellbeing.
The plan offers valuable lessons for organizations through its integrated focus on training, workplace culture reform, and tailored support services.
The future of work will depend not only on innovation and efficiency but also on whether work is fundamentally human-centered. That requires creating environments where men do not have to battle stigma to seek support and workplaces that actively contribute to improving men’s mental health — rather than adding to the problem.
*If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed or needs to talk, please seek guidance from a qualified professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, go to the nearest emergency room, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, or visit Mental Health America. In the U.K., you can contact the Samaritans for free, confidential support (available 24/7) at 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.
