Men’s health – talking is the first step

Men are dying too young. It’s a problem affecting our fathers, partners, brothers, sons and friends, yet it’s rarely talked about.  

Movember is more than just prostate cancer. it focusses on other aspects of men’s wellbeing such as mental health, suicide prevention and testicular cancer. 

We spoke to the CEO of Kyocera Group UK to get his take on Movember and the killer statistics from the Mo Bros movement. 

Why is taking about men’s health important?  

Rod: Men traditionally find it difficult to talk about their health.  Making this more ‘normal’, particularly when discussing topics that were previously considered sensitive or taboo such as testicular cancer, will save lives as helps increase early detection. We know that Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 so encouraging men to really talk about their mental and physical health can only be a good thing. 

Kyocera Group UK introduced Wellbeing chats in 2021 to our staff to encourage them to de-stress and open-up about how they are feeling. These have proven to be very popular and as part of Movember, we are running four special virtual coffee Mo’ments to allow staff to join in, talk and discover.

Why is it important to talk about this at Kyocera-MCL?  

Rod:  We promote an open, collaborative and caring culture. As part of our philosophy to "Respect the divine and love people”, we want to look out for each other in a way which transcends just being work colleagues.  

What does Movember mean to you personally?

Rod: I love the opportunity to engage with the wider KYOCERA family (Mo Bro’s or Mo Sis’s) and have the opportunity to use my role to help promote such important subjects and in doing so, create a connection with team members across the company I may not otherwise have a chance to engage with.  And have some fun at the same time. 

What can ladies do for Movember? 

Rod:  Encourage the guys to grow their Tash’s, help raise awareness by promoting the subject both internally and externally through social media and generally join in and encourage. Kyocera Group UK is running a special Mo Sisters event to raise funds and awareness of mental wellbeing. 

What are you planning to do for Movember? 

Rod: I’ll be growing my Mo Bro tash, using my Friday letters to promote the subject as far and widely as possible and generally encouraging everyone to join in and in doing so help promote men’s health. For those of you outside of Kyocera, Rod’s Friday letter is an email sent to all UK staff with his thoughts for the week and events whether that’s personal, business wise or from the staff. 

Growing a Mo is the most well-known way of supporting Movember. But you don’t need to grow to save a bro. Move, Host and Mo Your Own Way are other options. 

Here at Kyocera Group UK, we are not only encouraging our Mo Bro’s to grow a Mo but are also having events every week to help encourage and support our staff. From weekly Coffee Mo-ments, a Mo’stermind Quiz and a special Mo Sister event. 

If you would like to donate to our fundraising please visit our Just Giving link  KYOCERA Just Giving Link:  Kyocera Group UK is fundraising for Movember (justgiving.com) 

Killer Stats – literally. 

The stats around men’s health are staggering. As signatories to the UN Global Compact, Kyocera has focused on 6 of the sustainability goals, one of which is to encourage good health and wellbeing.  As part of this goal, Kyocera Group UK, encourages conversations around wellbeing in the workplace and getting taboo subjects out into the open through honest discussions with our staff. Supporting these conversations about health and mental wellbeing are proven to lead to a happier and healthier workforce.  

If you need support for any of these issues, here are some important links. 

For Suicide Prevention

To speak with someone immediately, contact NHS 111 on 111 or contact Samaritans on 116 123.  

Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer UK specialist nurses on 0800 074 8383 or visit their website. 

Testicular Cancer

Movember Nuts & Bolts campaign,  Macmillan or Cancer Research UK