Workplace wellbeing: Who gets left behind?

While menopause can disrupt professional momentum for women, men face their own silent crisis: poorer health outcomes, higher suicide rates and shorter life expectancy.

Despite this, in the push to support women in the workplace, men’s wellbeing is often left out of the conversation. This imbalance raises a critical question: are we truly building inclusive wellbeing strategies?

This piece explores findings from recent Brightmine research on men’s health and menopause support in the workplace, examining the extent to which organisations differ in approaches towards gendered health support.

The gender divide in wellbeing policies

There are stark differences when it comes to the adoption of formal approaches for employee wellbeing, with close to half of organisations (45.1%) having a standalone menopause policy. This compares to no organisations reporting the presence of a standalone men’s health policy.

The majority of organisations (85.7%) have either taken steps to or plan to formalise their approach to menopause support, while the same is true in just 23% of organisations for men’s health.

Chart 1: Organisational policies in place for menopause and men’s health

A similar trend emerges with action plans – documents designed to keep organisations accountable and focused on making progress. The vast majority of organisations (89.2%) have no men’s health action plan, whereas two-fifths (42.6%) already have, or are in the process of creating, a menopause action plan.

This finding mirrors the upcoming legislative changes outlined in the Employment Rights Bill, which introduces a requirement for large organisations to develop action plans to address the gender pay gap and menopause. By way of contrast, men’s health is absent from the legislative agenda, although the Government has now begun to develop a men’s health strategy for England. Progress is thus starting to be made, albeit slowly.

The line manager gap in men’s health support

Embedding wellbeing into the culture of an organisation is important for delivering meaningful and lasting impact. While close to half (46.8%) of HR professionals agreed that menopause support is a key component of their organisation’s employee wellbeing strategy, just a quarter (27%) of HR professionals said they believe the same is true for men’s health. This difference highlights a strategic blind spot, suggesting that men’s health is often overlooked in planning and decision making.

This oversight is further compounded by the role of line managers, who are expected to support employee wellbeing but are not always equipped to address the specific challenges of men’s health effectively.

According to the 2025 Brightmine line managers research, around half (49.7%) of organisations believe that line managers need further training or support with handling employee wellbeing. But when it comes to men’s health, confidence in line manager ability appears disproportionately high. A higher proportion of HR professionals reported feeling confident that line managers have the skills to effectively support male employees with their health (40.5%), compared to 31.6% who feel the same about support for employees experiencing menopause.

Given the lack of formal and practical support in place for men’s health, this confidence may be misplaced and perhaps suggests that HR professionals assume that the general line management approach is sufficient for supporting men’s wellbeing, despite evidence of poor health outcomes for men.

Despite the confidence in line manager capability, fewer HR professionals reported that their organisation’s culture actively encourages open conversations about men’s health (50%) compared to menopause support (63.3%). The most striking contrast emerges when looking at whether or not organisations are doing enough to support employees, with three-fifths (62%) of HR professionals believing their organisation is doing enough to support employees experiencing the menopause. Meanwhile, just 12.2% feel that enough is being done to support men’s health. This further underscores the idea that men’s health is underrepresented in both formal policy as well as organisational culture.

A lack of visible commitment not only risks reinforcing stigma but may also contribute to reduced engagement among male employees. If organisations are to deliver truly inclusive wellbeing strategies, they must ensure that support for men’s health is not left to assumption or informal practice but is embedded with the same intent and visibility as other wellbeing priorities.

Chart 2: Comparison of organisational support for menopause and men’s health

Awareness over action?

Unlike other areas of wellbeing, where formal policies and strategic efforts are commonplace, support for men’s health appears to rely heavily on awareness efforts. Encouragingly, around two-thirds (66.2%) of organisations have taken specific steps to improve men’s health awareness, similar to the proportion of organisations doing so for menopause (68.4%).

However, the nature of such efforts varies. Internal communications and awareness campaigns are widespread across both topics, but fewer organisations offer employees dedicated training on men’s health. Being aware of an issue is important, but what truly drives change is equipping employees with the skills and knowledge to tackle it confidently and effectively.

Chart 3: Steps taken to support menopause and men’s health awareness

To build a truly inclusive culture, organisations must move beyond basic awareness efforts and commit to strategic change. With growing awareness and early signs of progress for men’s health, now is the time for organisations to turn intention into action and close the gender gap in wellbeing support.

Men account for three-quarters of suicide deaths, experience higher rates of serious illnesses and are less likely to access healthcare, yet they tend to have lower absence levels than women. Many men continue to attend work despite facing physical or mental health challenges, often without seeking support. This silent struggle not only affects individual wellbeing, but can impact team dynamics, productivity and organisational resilience.

If organisations are serious about inclusive wellbeing, men’s health must be treated as a strategic priority and not left to informal practice or generalised support. That means embedding it into wellbeing frameworks, equipping line managers, and fostering a culture where male employees feel safe to speak up and seek help. Anything less risks leaving a significant portion of the workforce behind.