What Can I do for Movember at Work?
It’s Movember again and it’s time to shine the spotlight on men’s health. Last year, we wrote this piece giving men some good tips on how to stay on top of their physical and mental wellbeing. This year, we would like to focus on what you can do in the workplace to look out for yourself and your fellow Mo-bros.
Make sure that everyone has access to group health insurance
This should be something that every employee in Singapore should have. Understand what you are covered for and visit a GP at least once a year to get a basic health screening. Basic screening packages are included in most employee health benefits in Singapore. Having a routine prostate exam is easy to do and is an important part of your Movember to-do list. See if they are included in your employee benefit health insurance by giving us a call. You don’t have to ask specifically – just ask for the inclusions.
Just be aware
Untreated mental health conditions are one of the biggest causes of suicide among men. The stigma around mental health is starting to break down, but it is still there. It’s up to us all to keep talking about it and normalising it. Make it clear to the people you work with that if they are struggling, there is help and that they will be safe at work. Be proactive and speak to management and HR about having benefits for mental health built into your employee medical insurance. Putting some helpful phone numbers on the intranet might be of benefit to someone as well as the contact details for some trusted psychologists or counselors. Let us know what we can do to help here.
See if you have access to any wellness programs as part of your health insurance
A crucial part of the Movember campaign is raising awareness for male mental health. Employers are increasingly seeing the value in providing wellness insurance for their teams because it helps to make people feel happy and safe. Work-life balance and having access to more holistic approaches to maintaining good health are paying off dividends for companies that have prioritised these things. Their workforce’s are engaged, productive and loyal. But most importantly, they are happier.
If you would like to talk more about this, let our employee benefits team know. It’s a wise investment.
Move for Movember
Activity is pretty important when it comes to taking care of our physical and mental health. Making sure that you get in at least 30 mins of walking every day is a great place to start. If you are struggling to do this, have a good think about why that might be and if it seems impossible, see your GP and have a chat. There might be a bit more going on than just lethargy or finding the time. Get your teammates involved when you go for a walk at work. Go to lunch together, or take a group fitness class at lunch together. The Expat Insurance team are great at this kind of stuff, and we are a pretty happy bunch.
Pay attention and talk to one another
This may seem obvious, but when we are distracted and busy ourselves, we can forget about our teammates. One of the tenets of Movember is ‘We need to talk’, so let’s make sure we all do it. Ask how your colleagues are. If anyone seems down or like they are having a tough time, ask them if they need to talk. Invite them to lunch or for a walk or a beer after work. Talking to and listening to someone who is going through a rough patch can be lifesaving. The global ‘R U OK’ campaign does an amazing job at this, but let’s try to ask these questions all year round – through Movember and beyond.
If you or anyone else that you know might be struggling, reach out.
Here are some numbers below that might be helpful, too.
Mental Health Hotline: 6389 2222 (24 hours)
Singapore Association Mental Health has a Counselling 1800 – 283 7019 (MON – FRI 9 am – 6 pm)
