Men’s Health Week: Supporting Business Owners, Managers and Workplace Wellbeing

Running a business, managing an office, leading a team or keeping operations moving is not for the faint-hearted.

There are customers to keep happy, staff to support, emails to answer, decisions to make, problems to solve and usually several things that needed doing yesterday.

For many business owners and managers, the working day no longer has a neat start and finish. The laptop comes home. The phone keeps pinging. The inbox fills up faster than it empties. Meetings run into meetings. And somewhere in the middle of all that, the person holding everything together is expected to keep going.

This Men’s Health Week, it feels important to talk about that.

Not in a dramatic or finger-wagging way. Nobody needs another person telling them they are doing life wrong. Most busy business people are already doing their best with the time, energy and resources they have.

But it is worth gently asking: who is looking after the people who are looking after the business?

The quiet pressure on business owners and managers

Many business owners, operational managers and office managers are very good at spotting problems in the business.

A missed deadline.
A broken process.
A customer complaint.
A fire safety issue.
A faulty bit of equipment.
A risk assessment that needs reviewing.

They know these things cannot simply be ignored and hoped away.

But when it comes to their own health, stress levels, tiredness, back pain, eye strain, poor sleep or constant digital overload, the response is often very different.

“I’m fine.”
“I’ll deal with it later.”
“It’s just a busy patch.”
“I can’t take my foot off the pedal.”
“Everyone is under pressure.”

And sometimes that is true. Business does have busy patches. Managers do carry responsibility. Owners do often feel that if they stop, everything else might wobble.

But the danger comes when the busy patch becomes the normal way of working.

Digital overload is now part of the risk picture

For office-based and management roles, one of the biggest modern pressures is digital overload.

It is not just “a few emails”.

It is email, Teams messages, WhatsApp groups, shared drives, spreadsheets, online forms, portals, video calls, calendar invites, reminders, notifications and last-minute requests arriving from every direction.

Microsoft’s Work Trend Index described this as the “infinite workday”, with some workers being interrupted every two minutes during core working hours by meetings, emails or chats. That is a lot of interruption for anyone trying to think clearly, make sensible decisions and manage people well.

For business owners and managers, this constant digital noise can create a strange mix of being very busy, but not always very productive.

You can spend all day reacting and still feel like nothing properly moved forward.

That is not a personal failing. It is often a system problem.

And like most system problems, it can usually be improved with a sensible look at what is happening, what is causing pressure and what can realistically be changed.

Why Men’s Health Week matters in the workplace

Men’s Health Week is a useful reminder because many men, particularly those in leadership or management roles, are not always quick to ask for help.

That might be because they feel they need to be strong, dependable and in control. It might be because they do not want to worry their team. It might be because they worry that admitting they are struggling will affect how others see them.

This is especially relevant for business owners and managers who feel responsible for everyone else.

The Men’s Health Forum has highlighted that around one in five men in the UK dies before the age of 65, and that around three quarters of premature deaths from coronary heart disease are male.

These are not statistics to scare people. They are a reminder that health matters, and that delaying support does not make a problem disappear.

In the workplace, we often talk about early intervention for equipment, buildings, systems and processes. The same common-sense idea applies to people.

A small check now is usually better than a crisis later.

Stress is a Health & Safety issue too

Work-related stress is not just an HR concern or a wellbeing poster in the staff kitchen.

It is part of Health & Safety.

The Health and Safety Executive reports that stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 22.1 million working days lost in Great Britain in 2024/25. On average, each person affected by work-related stress, depression or anxiety took 22.9 days off work.

That is not a small business issue.

That is a productivity issue, a staffing issue, a leadership issue and a risk management issue.

The HSE also makes it clear that employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by carrying out a risk assessment and acting on it.

For a small or medium-sized business, this does not mean creating a huge complicated document that sits in a folder and never sees daylight again.

It means looking honestly and practically at the work being done and asking sensible questions.

Are workloads manageable?
Are managers carrying too much alone?
Are people expected to reply outside normal working hours?
Are roles clear?
Do staff know who to speak to if they are struggling?
Are breaks actually happening?
Are workstations set up properly?
Are people trained, supported and listened to?

None of this needs to be over the top.

But it does need to be thought about.

The manager’s health affects the whole team

When a manager is overloaded, it rarely stays neatly contained with that one person.

It can show up as rushed decisions, shorter tempers, missed checks, poor communication, low morale, increased sickness absence, mistakes, tension in the team and people feeling unsupported.

This is not about blaming managers. Quite the opposite.

Managers are often the people absorbing pressure from every direction.

They are trying to meet business targets, keep staff happy, deal with customer needs, report upwards, solve problems and still get their own work done.

If they are also dealing with poor sleep, constant notifications, back pain, eye strain, headaches, anxiety or low-level dread, something will eventually give.

That “something” might be their health.
It might be their patience.
It might be their performance.
It might be their decision-making.
It might be their ability to support others.

This is why supporting managers is not a luxury. It is a sensible business control.

Practical steps businesses can take this week

Men’s Health Week does not need to become a big campaign with balloons, banners and a committee.

Although if there is cake, we are not judging.

For most businesses, small and practical steps are more useful.

Here are a few places to start.

1. Look at the digital working day

Ask whether people are expected to reply to messages late at night, early in the morning or over the weekend.

Sometimes there is a real operational need. Often, there is just a habit that has crept in.

A simple “digital sunset” agreement can help. For example, non-urgent internal emails or messages can wait until the next working day.

This does not stop work getting done. It simply gives people permission to switch off when they reasonably can.

2. Check the workload pinch points

If the same manager is always the person who “just sorts it”, there may be a hidden risk.

Ask:

Who is carrying the most pressure?
Which tasks keep being pushed back?
Where are delays, mistakes or frustrations showing up?
Are managers getting time to manage, or are they simply firefighting?

This is not about finding fault. It is about finding the pressure points before they become bigger problems.

3. Review workstation comfort

For office-based managers and employees, Display Screen Equipment matters.

DSE discomfort and pain can be a silent thing. People get used to their desks, screens, laptops and chairs, and do not always notice the gradual build-up of fatigue, eye strain, wrist pain, upper limb problems, tension or backache.

A simple DSE review can help staff and managers set up their workstation properly and raise any issues early.

Again, it does not need to be overcomplicated. It just needs to be useful.

4. Make health appointments easier

Many busy people put off GP appointments, health checks, eye tests, dental appointments or pharmacy advice because work feels too full.

Men can be particularly likely to delay asking for help.

One practical option is to offer a “Health Hour” during Men’s Health Week, giving staff and managers permission to book or attend a health-related appointment without feeling awkward about it.

It is a small thing, but it sends a clear message: health is not an inconvenience to the business. It helps keep the business going.

5. Give managers somewhere to talk

Managers need support too.

A short, regular manager check-in can make a real difference. It does not have to be therapy. It does not have to be formal. It can simply be a practical conversation about workload, pressure points, staffing issues, upcoming risks and what support is needed.

A manager who feels supported is more likely to support others well.

Where Your Company Works can help

At Your Company Works, we understand that most business owners simply want to get on with running their business and making it as successful as it can be.

They know Health & Safety is important, but they are not always sure where to start, what is required or how to make it manageable alongside everything else.

That is where we can help.

Your Company Works provides calm, professional and friendly Health & Safety support for busy business people.

This can include:

Health and Safety audits
General risk assessments
Stress risk assessment support
DSE workstation assessments
Health and Safety policies
Fire Risk Assessment support
Safe systems of work
Practical action plans
Competent Health and Safety advice
Ongoing support and review
A guiding hand when everything feels a bit much

The aim is not to create paperwork for the sake of paperwork.

The aim is to help you understand what needs doing, what matters most and how to put workable solutions in place.

Sometimes that means a one-off piece of support. Sometimes it means longer-term guidance. Sometimes it means helping an in-house person feel more confident. Sometimes it means simply sitting down with a business owner and turning the worry into a sensible plan.

No panic.
No judgement.
No making things more complicated than they need to be.

Just practical support that fits around real businesses and real people.

Progress, not perfection

Men’s Health Week is a good time to remind ourselves that looking after people is not separate from running a good business.

It is part of it.

Healthy managers make better decisions.
Supported teams communicate better.
Clearer systems reduce pressure.
Good risk management protects people and productivity.

No business gets everything perfect all the time. That is not real life.

But small, sensible improvements can make a meaningful difference.

So this week, perhaps start with one question:

What is one thing we could do to make work healthier, safer or more manageable for the people keeping this business going?

If you are not sure where to start, Your Company Works would be happy to help you talk it through.

Contact Paula Santomauro at Your Company Works for calm, practical Health & Safety support.