Men's health at work: What a workforce health MOT revealed

A Men's Health MOT programme run by Peppy found that 42% of male employees were at elevated or high health risk - most without any awareness. This post shares the full data and what HR leaders should do next.

Men's health at work: The data HR leaders need to see

When Peppy partnered with a major banking client to deliver a Men's Health MOT programme. 100 male employees completed a full assessment covering physical health, mental wellbeing, sexual health and lifestyle risk factors.

The findings challenge a comfortable assumption that sits at the heart of most benefits strategies: that your male employees are broadly fine.

They're not and the data shows exactly why.

42% of male employees were flagged as elevated or high risk

The headline finding from the Men's Health MOT: 42% of participants were flagged as elevated or high risk. Of those, 17% fell into the highest-risk 'Red' category, requiring urgent clinical follow-up.

In a workforce of 1,000 men, that's 420 people carrying significant, unmanaged health risk — driving presenteeism, eroding performance, and increasing the likelihood of serious future health events.

The higher-risk 'Red' group showed a severe clustering of symptoms:

• 100% reported tiredness and low energy
• 83% reported low mood
• 78% reported stress
• 72% reported anxiety
• 50% reported changes in libido or sexual desire

These aren't men who are struggling and asking for help. These are men who showed up to work, answered 'fine' when asked, and had no idea of the clinical picture underneath.

Why men don't know they're at risk: The perception gap

The most operationally important finding in the data is the disconnect between how men perceive their own health and what the numbers actually show.

68% of participants rated their own health as 'Good' or better.

At the same time:

• 72% were not meeting basic exercise recommendations
• 12% were doing no exercise at all
• 44% did not know their own blood pressure
• 83% of the zero-exercise group still rated their health as 'Good' or 'Fair'

This is why passive benefits don't work for men's health. Gym subsidies, EAP helplines, and general wellbeing resources require men to self-identify a problem and seek support. But men who believe they're healthy — even when the evidence says otherwise — have no reason to engage.

Peppy's Men's Health MOT is designed specifically to close this gap. By giving men their own personalised data, it creates the trigger for action that passive benefits cannot.

Mental health is a men's physical health problem

Men’s health at work: the cost of late intervention

Read the blog

Across the entire cohort, the three most commonly reported issues were mental:

• 53% reported stress
• 50% reported low mood
• 45% reported anxiety

This alone would be a significant finding. But the more important data point is the co-occurrence: 85% of men with a physical health concern also reported a mental health issue.

Physical and mental health in men are not separate problems requiring separate solutions. They are deeply interconnected and any benefits strategy that treats them in isolation will underserve both.

Mercer Marsh Benefits' Health on Demand 2025 data similarly found that 43% of men report lack of fulfilment or purpose, and 36% report feelings of loneliness — workplace implications that include reduced engagement, increased turnover risk, and higher rates of sick leave and presenteeism.

An EAP that men don't call is not a men's mental health solution.

The sexual health-cardiovascular link most employers are missing

Sexual health was one of the most clinically significant areas surfaced by the MOT and one that traditional health programmes almost never reach:

• 23% reported changes in libido or sexual desire
• 23% reported absent or less frequent morning erections
• 19% reported difficulty maintaining an erection during sex
• 12% reported difficulty achieving an erection

These are not isolated lifestyle concerns. Erectile dysfunction is a clinically recognised early marker of cardiovascular disease. In this cohort, men reporting erectile dysfunction showed the highest rates of hypertension. 85.7% of men with any sexual health concern also reported at least one mood issue.

By offering a discreet, non-judgmental entry point for these topics, Peppy draws men into a clinical pathway that surfaces the cardiovascular and hormonal risks underneath. Risks that would otherwise remain invisible.

What happened after the MOT: Engagement rates that passive benefits can't match

Every participant received a personalised, RAG-rated result and a tailored pathway on day one. The response was immediate:

• 57% of participants interacted with the Peppy clinical team via chat
• 18% accessed at-home testing — 77% of those chose testosterone testing
• 17 clinical consultations were booked, primarily around testing and results
• 620+ pieces of content were consumed within weeks of launch
• 24 course enrolments and 13 events attended

For context: the average EAP utilisation rate sits at around 5–6%. A 57% active clinical engagement rate from a standing start, within weeks, represents a fundamentally different level of impact.

Next steps include re-sending MOTs to engaged participants, to track measurable health improvements at six months and generate longitudinal outcome data.

What this means for your benefits strategy

Men's health is increasingly on the agenda. 53% of employers are expanding benefits for male midlife health, and the business case is clear: when men are healthier, the measurable impact on presenteeism, retention, and performance is significant.

But expanding provision only works if the provision actually reaches men. This data shows that the gap between what men believe about their health and what's actually happening is wide enough to drive undetected risk at scale across your workforce.

The Men's Health MOT finds that risk before it becomes a crisis. Here's what a Peppy programme delivers from day one:

• A personalised health assessment that gives men their actual numbers
• Immediate RAG-rated results with a clear, tailored clinical pathway
• At-home testing for testosterone, HbA1c, and cardiovascular markers
• 1:1 practitioner support via chat and clinical consultation
• Signposting to internal and external mental health resources
• 6-month re-assessment to track health improvements and measure ROI

The risk is already in your workforce. The question is whether your current benefits provision is finding it.

Talk to the Peppy Health team about running a Men's Health MOT in your organisation →

Frequently Asked Questions: Men's health in the workplace

What is a Men's Health MOT?

A Men's Health MOT is a structured health assessment programme designed specifically for male employees. It provides an overview of physical health risks, mental wellbeing, sexual health concerns, and lifestyle risk factors, then provides each participant with a personalised RAG-rated result and a supported clinical pathway.

What percentage of male employees are at health risk in the workplace?

In Peppy Health's Men's Health MOT analysis of a major banking workforce, 42% of male participants were flagged as elevated or high risk — many not fully aware of their risk status.

Why don't men engage with EAP services?

Men typically don't engage with EAP services because they perceive themselves as healthy and have no trigger to seek support. Peppy's data shows 68% of men rated their own health as 'Good' or better, yet 72% weren't meeting basic exercise recommendations. Without a personalised health assessment to surface their actual risk, most men never engage with available support.

What are the most common men's health issues in the workplace?

According to Peppy's workforce analysis, the most common men's health issues at work are tiredness and low energy (62%), stress (53%), low mood (50%), and anxiety (45%). Importantly, 85% of men with a physical health concern also reported a mental health issue.

How do you measure ROI on men's health benefits?

ROI on men's health benefits can be measured through engagement rates, clinical referrals, at-home testing uptake, and re-assessment outcomes at 6 and 12 months. In Peppy Health's banking cohort, 57% of participants moved from a digital assessment to active practitioner engagement within weeks — a measurable indicator of early intervention at scale.

Is men's health different from general employee wellbeing programmes?

Yes. General wellbeing programmes are rarely designed around how men actually engage with health. Men are significantly less likely to self-refer for support. A Men's Health MOT works by giving men their own personalised data — a proven trigger for action — rather than relying on them to proactively seek help.

What is the link between sexual health and cardiovascular risk in men?

Erectile dysfunction is a recognised early marker of cardiovascular disease. In Peppy Health’s workforce data, men reporting erectile dysfunction had the highest rates of hypertension in the cohort — reinforcing the strong link between sexual symptoms and underlying vascular risk.

Many men completing the MOT also reported symptoms associated with low testosterone, including low libido, fatigue, reduced muscle mass, and low mood. Hormonal health plays an important role not only in sexual function, but in cardiometabolic and psychological wellbeing more broadly.

Addressing sexual health provides a discreet and effective entry point into wider cardiovascular and hormonal assessment — supporting earlier identification of risk and better long-term health outcomes.