On Tuesday 14th November almost forty of us from the IP profession gathered at Mathys & Squire in London for an event jointly organised by IP Inclusive and Jonathan’s Voice on “Championing Men’s Mental Health in the IP and Legal Professions”. Nick Bloy of Wellbeing Republic give an excellent talk covering the important topics of:
(i) why we need to address men’s mental health (ill health, substance abuse, suicide)
(ii) the barriers that stop men seeking help or speaking up
(iii) defining and exploring masculinity and finally
(iv) how we can champion men’s mental health.
Nick authored a report for Lawcare on this topic and it can be downloaded at https://www.lawcare.org.uk/media/y5joke1k/lawcare-men-s-mental-health-focus-group-july-2022.pdf for those who would like to go into some of the details. One of the topics Nick focussed on was the barriers that exist for men in speaking up or seeking support. For example, according to an article in Harvard Business review “In many professional jobs, there is an expectation that one be an “ideal worker” – fully devoted to and available for the job, with no personal responsibilities getting in the way”. While women struggle with this standard more overtly, in disputes over maternity leaves and childcare, many men struggle with this expectation as well. Thus, one of the greatest barriers to speaking up may be fear of negative perceptions or negative repercussions.
So, what are the main outcomes? One of the key things we should be doing is addressing shame and stigma. Silence perpetuates shame, stigma, and mental ill health so we need to look at what helps men speak up. Nick suggested we need to have support groups that men can join, empower male role models, promote a psychologically safe environment and the availability of confidential support, and recognise that we each have a role to play in championing men’s health in the profession.
Any suggestions for future networking events on this or other topics related to mental health or workplace mental wellbeing please email me at info@jonathansvoice.org.uk
We are very grateful to Rich Wells and Andrea Brewster for their efforts in organising and promoting this event. Thanks also to Mathys & Squire for hosting the meeting and providing refreshments that most certainly encouraged valuable networking
