Healthy workplace: how to target the men in the office

Marketing anything to men and women at the same time can be difficult because men like it one way and women like it another. Women tend to be more open to new ideas and willing to take a gamble whereas men are less open initially and need the science and hard facts before they'll engage. Generalisations I know but broadly true. 

HR departments sometimes feel this when trying to get men in offices interested in health and wellness. It's not surprising really that men are less keen to talk about any health issues or asking for advice when you consider how hard it is to get men to visit their doctor!

But men's health can't be ignored so what can you do about it to engage men more in the subject?


Recently, there was a discussion on BBC Radio 4 covering Men’s Health in the Workplace. This is a really hot topic at the moment.

At The Tonic we recently ran a ‘Men Only’ wellness event for one of our major clients and the response from a male population, previously not that interested in their wellbeing, was fantastic. The feedback from those that came along was brilliant and, as well as the guys learning a lot during the sessions, we had reports following the event that many more men had been booking in for cholesterol and Blood Pressure checks than in previous months.

This year National Men’s Health Week runs from June 15th to June 21st so don’t miss this opportunity to get the male population in your office into shape with good health and wellness initiatives. The benefits of doing so will be that the individuals concerned feel better about themselves which in turn makes the office a more positive place to be.

All you need to do is pitch your wellbeing messages carefully so they appeal to the male population:

1. Think performance, not health
Men aren’t too interested in the health benefits of maintaining healthy habits, they like to think they’re indestructible and can soldier on no matter what. So talk to them about how being healthy can sharpen up their performance. If they think they’re working well now, just imagine how well they could be doing if they tightened up on their eating habits or their fitness routine a little bit.

2. Get competitive
It’s in-built in men to be competitive so if you want to organize health related initiatives you need to think about some competitions or challenges. Things like, who can walk the most steps in one week; which department has the fittest team as measured by a few key performance measures; who can eat the best for a few days, and which group has the best work life balance? Individual and team challenges will capture the imagination and make sure there’s a reason for everyone to stay on track with their healthy behaviours.

3. Plan for the future
Think about initiatives that you can set up during Men’s Health Week that will continue for months to come. Use the National event to raise awareness of Men’s Health but then aim to keep the issue in people’s minds at all times by updating the challenges. Be sure to award prizes that men can display on their desks and publicise winning individuals and teams on notice boards and the company website. The more you make a feature of healthy men in the workplace, the more people you’ll reach to start them thinking positively about their own health.

4. Consider what you want them to say about the event when it’s over
When organizing any event, you need to plan for the best possible results. The comments below are from people who attended the Tonic ‘Men Only’ wellness event I mentioned earlier. Make sure you know the positive feedback you’re aiming to receive and then plan initiatives that will guarantee you get it.

‘Thank you for organising. This was excellent’

‘Very useful and thought provoking, this session was excellent and very informative’

‘Very useful – increase motivation to make changes’

‘Excellent’

‘Wasn’t sure what to expect – informative, made me think’

‘Very useful’

Did all the topics you were expecting get covered? ‘Yes, plus more.
Made me think about changes I need to make’

‘I would like a follow up session’



Photograph by POSITiv (flickr)

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How to make your wellbeing initiatives really work for you

When it comes to corporate wellbeing programmes, a discount at the local gym or a regular chair massage might be what springs to mind, but all that is changing. Are you ready to get up to date with what your offering. It may just be the change your company needs.

I've just had an article published in HR Zone all about how to take your wellbeing initiatives at work into the 21st century. 

Its important to do this because you could be in danger of spending money in the wrong place and not getting the results you want. No one has spare time, cash or resources so read on to hear exactly how you can implement a new programme today and get your staff buzzing.

Full article is here.

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No better time to look after your staff than NOW

Looking after the wellbeing of staff is something that can never be neglected and for some people, it's difficult to see how you can justify this when people are worried about their job security and bonuses are being stopped etc. But it is EXACTLY in this sort of climate that wellbeing will come into its own and really help a business and it's employees get stuck in and motivated again.
Even the government is getting involved.

Reading this article, Marc Woolfson of Westminster Advisers says:

Although such catastrophic job losses are unlikely to be realised, HR bosses must be concerned about the effect of such a lack of confidence on productivity and workplace wellbeing.

The article goes on to advocate the role of wellbeing in times as fraught as these.

Workplace health- screening and advice should be supported on an ongoing basis, rather than simply once a year.
Encouraging employers in this way to help their staff live healthy lives and make positive choices is a sensible and effective policy, and one that can be replicated easily elsewhere.

The article is one I completely agree with and it's good to see the message spreading. Don't be duped by a recession into thinking that wellness initiatives can be shelved. They are needed now more than ever.

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How to Justify spending money on Wellbeing in a recession

In the current economic climate, how do you justify spending money on wellbeing schemes at work when the company has cancelled bonuses or is making redundancies?

How can businesses invest in this area and communicate the right messages when budgets are tight? How do you ensure these initiatives are received positively both by those in the business and those outside of your organisation? Here are 6 questions you may be asking yourself.

1. Surely Wellbeing isn’t a priority right now?
Make no mistake, there is no better time to look after your employees than when the pressure is on and demands on them are greatest. If you’re working with teams who’ve had their numbers cut, they need to be engaged and motivated to focus on the job and not on insecurities around them. If your initiatives are properly designed, they will have an immediate impact throughout the business and get great results. A downturn is when your people need support the most.

2. How do we ensure the wellbeing message is received positively?
Be strategic with your wellbeing programme! You need to know why you’re doing it and communicate the right information to your staff. If you’re making the effort to create a positive and energetic culture within your organisation, tell everyone concerned. If you’re doing it to ease the increased stress and burden staff may be feeling – tell them.

3. Wouldn’t staff just prefer extra cash at the end of the month?
The reason most businesses don’t simply offer more money is that extra pay can be a very short lived incentive while the right wellbeing initiatives provide staff with resources that generate personal benefits way beyond a few extra pounds each month. This is money well spent on building engagement, retention and loyalty as well as providing added value for employees.

4. How do we justify the extra spend internally and externally?
If you’re concerned that the money you’re planning to invest in wellbeing will come under scrutiny from your staff or from sources outside the business, particularly the media, make sure that everyone knows the full story. Be transparent about the positive intentions the company has for its culture and its people. Make it clear to staff that you’ve done your research and you’re responding to what you know will improve happiness, motivation and performance levels within your business. Explain to the media how every pound you’re planning to invest in this area is designed to generate many more pounds when it comes to increasing productivity and morale, and reducing absence, turnover and recruitment costs. Wellbeing initiatives create greater efficiency which ultimately benefits everyone.

5. Is wellbeing the right place to be spending money?
Yes, if well planned. If you’ve done your homework you will be in a position to roll out a programme that doesn’t break the bank while ensuring that it is so well targeted to your employees’ needs that each initiative generates a tangible return on investment.

6. How do I make the right decision about what to spend the money on?
Fancy initiatives that cost a fortune are no substitute for targeted initiatives that make a real difference. Bear in mind the following guidelines:

• Use initiatives that get people excited and get people involved
• Incentivise your programme by recognising and rewarding those who take part. This needn’t mean elaborate prizes but cost effective tokens of appreciation or even simply publicly acknowledged success stories that get staff engaged and create a brilliant buzz around your office.
• Think it through and talk it through. The Tonic can help you implement a programme either as part of your current training modules or as stand-alone initiatives.

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Simple Steps To Successful & Profitable Health & Wellbeing at Work

Looking to get great results with health and wellbeing at your office and raise the performance levels?

Setting up effective health and wellbeing initiatives is a lot easier than you might imagine. There are three key questions you need to consider.
i) What are the primary wellbeing goals for the business?
It’s likely that you’ll be implementing a wellbeing programme to boost staff morale, reduce absenteeism, reduce staff turnover, increase productivity or increase staff satisfaction. Be very clear about your top priority and keep this in mind throughout your planning and implementation.

ii) How will you measure success?
You’ll be able to accurately calculate the impact of your wellbeing programme if you establish the key performance indicators in advance. Even if this is simply the number of positive comments you hear about the programme, you have to know what you’re looking for from the outset.

iii) Who is your target audience for the program? 

Are you aiming to involve specific groups, particular individuals or are you looking to get the whole company involved? When you know who you are appealing to you’ll be able to plan your initiatives more quickly and then promote them more easily for maximum involvement.

2. What a great wellbeing program looks like
Wellbeing programmes usually fall into three broad categories:

• Wellbeing modules that feature as part of training, development and leadership programmes. This includes modules covering personal performance, nutrition, energy levels, stress management, relaxation, work-life balance, sleep and fitness. Modules can be included as part of existing training programmes or can be designed as free standing wellbeing training programme delivered as a single half day session or as a weekly program.

• Group or individual initiatives that are run on-site as part of an Employee benefits package. These initiatives include group fitness sessions, yoga classes, Pilates sessions, running club, fresh fruit deliveries, healthy cooking and individual lifestyle or nutrition coaching programs.

• Health Fairs on your premises. These events raise awareness of healthy living initiatives and can include health screenings, fitness measurements, competitions, cookery challenges and taster sessions for a variety of group or individual initiatives. Chances are that your wellbeing programme will be made up of a combination of the above elements with a flexible approach to rolling out each element so that you can put your time, effort and budget into the areas where it will have most impact and organically grow into the most effective wellbeing programme for your organisation over time.

3. It all sounds great but don’t these programmes cost a lot of money?
Not as much as you might think. If you plan your wellbeing programme correctly, every initiative will be carefully targeted and you’ll be certain that you’re getting maximum value for money from every pound you spend. It’s a good idea at this point to begin viewing expenditure on wellbeing as an investment rather than a cost. It’s only a cost if you don’t know how the money you spend will benefit your organisation in the long run but, like all successful business ventures, if you know your wellbeing programme is generating more value to the business than the cost of running it, you’ll know that every pound invested leads to a tangible return on investment. And that return on investment can be quite considerable. Research has shown that carefully targeted programmes can generate an ROI of up to £84.90 for every £1.00 spent on wellbeing.

4. Who pays for the services – the business or the employee? 

It’s up to you whether you’d like to ask staff for a contribution to the programs you’re implementing but in our experience the impact is much greater if the business covers the cost, as it would for any other form of training, education or employee benefit. This sends the message that your organisation values the health and mindset of its people and wants to help develop this aspect of their lives as much as it would any other area of their professional and personal development.


To read the FULL report on how to set up a successful and profitable wellness program, visit www.the-tonic.com for your download.

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