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Key insights from Peppy's Men's Health Awareness Week webinar
Last week, Peppy brought together Dr. Alex George, former A&E doctor and one of the UK's most prominent voices on health and wellbeing, alongside Peppy's specialist clinicians Bernadette Kilbane and Aaron Barnett, for a live webinar to mark Men's Health Awareness Week.
The conversation was built around a question that most employers haven't thought to ask: what if the men in your workforce genuinely believe they are healthy, but aren't?
The answer, as the clinical data shows, has serious consequences for absence, productivity, retention and organisational performance.
What did Peppy's Men's Health Awareness Week webinar cover?
The session explored findings from Peppy's analysis of over 100 clinician-led men's health MOTs delivered through the Peppy app, alongside clinical insights from the panel on why men disengage from health support, what finally brings them forward, and what employers can do about it right now.
Before the session began, attendees were polled on their organisation's current approach to men's health. The results set the tone for everything that followed:
- 55% offer general wellbeing support, but nothing men's health specific
- 28% have some men's health initiatives, but they are ad hoc or awareness-based
- Only 3% reported having dedicated, ongoing men's health support in place
If that reflects where your organisation currently sits, this article is for you.
The health perception gap: What Peppy's data reveals
When Peppy analysed over 100 clinician-led men's health MOTs, one finding stood out above all others.
68% of men rated their own health as good or better.
Yet the clinical data told a completely different story:
- 72% were not meeting basic exercise recommendations
- 12% were doing no exercise at all
- 54% did not know their own blood pressure
- Over 50% were experiencing stress or anxiety symptoms
This is what Peppy calls the health perception gap. And for HR and benefits leaders, it matters enormously. A workforce that believes it is healthy but isn't is a workforce that will not put its hand up for support.
That disconnect does not stay invisible. It shows up in absence figures, productivity losses, and the quiet disengagement of people your organisation cannot afford to lose.
Why do men underestimate their own health risks?
The health perception gap is not about dishonesty. Most men genuinely believe they are well. That belief is, in large part, a product of how healthcare has historically been designed and delivered.
As Dr. Alex George explained during the webinar:
"People think that if you don't have significant symptoms, you must be well. But those are not the same two things. You can understand why people have that belief, because that's what we've taught them and told them."
The traditional healthcare model was built around treating illness, not preventing it. It was reactive by design. And that has shaped how many men think about their own bodies: if nothing is visibly broken, nothing needs fixing.
The result is that conditions progress silently. Cardiovascular risk goes undetected. Testosterone levels drop without recognition. Mental health deteriorates behind a mask of "I'm fine." And by the time something surfaces at work, in an HR meeting, through increased absence, or a sudden performance dip, the problem has often been building for months or years.
What is keeping men stuck?
Understanding the perception gap means understanding the cultural conditioning that sits behind it.
During the webinar, Dr. Alex used a compelling analogy to explain how it develops. If two people stand in a field with a compass and take directions just three degrees apart, after travelling 100 miles they end up in completely different places. Apply that to childhood development and 15 years of subtle cultural messaging, and you begin to understand why men and women arrive at adulthood with very different relationships to help-seeking behaviour.
From an early age, boys receive messages that steer them toward stoicism, self-sufficiency and silence. By the time those boys enter your workforce, those patterns are deeply embedded. They present in very specific ways:
Men delay seeking medical attention, sometimes dangerously so. Dr. Alex described seeing men arrive in A&E three or four days after significant chest pain, their condition far worse than it needed to be.
Men underutilise existing wellbeing benefits. EAPs, health assessments and GP referral schemes are all chronically underused by male employees.
Men come to health services through the back door. During the webinar, Aaron Barnett, Peppy's Director of Lifestyle Healthcare, explained what his team sees every day:
"Men come to us for performance-related things: better sleep, more energy, weight management. But when they get through the door and we open up that space, that's when they start to dive into the bigger areas. The lifestyle entry point gives men a really good jump-in to more important health issues."
Dr. Alex noted that the same pattern appears in his own work with men's mental health:
"They come through the door for one reason and we realise there are other things they need. But fundamentally, they're not coming forth with what's perhaps behind things. That's actually helpful when you're trying to strategise how to bring men in. Thinking about those performance factors, that's the language."
What does unmanaged men's health cost employers?
Peppy's lead men's health practitioner, Bernadette Kilbane, outlined the specific ways unmanaged men's health shows up in organisational performance.
Absence and presenteeism. Tiredness, low energy and undiagnosed conditions all contribute to both visible absence and the less visible but equally costly problem of presenteeism. Employees are physically present but mentally and physically unable to perform. Deloitte's research estimated that poor mental health alone cost UK employers £51 billion in 2024, with £24 billion of that attributable to presenteeism.
Cardiovascular risk. Men face higher rates of high blood pressure at younger ages than women. Yet over half of the men in Peppy's MOT analysis did not know their own blood pressure. Undetected hypertension is a silent driver of serious illness and significant workforce absence.
Low testosterone. Between 10% and 40% of men experience low testosterone at some point in their lives. For those who are symptomatic, the effects on mood, energy, cognition and physical performance are significant and frequently go unrecognised in the workplace.
Fertility challenges. Around one in seven couples face fertility challenges, with approximately 50% of fertility issues being male-related. Men navigating fertility challenges, including those who are involuntarily childless, represent an often invisible cohort within your workforce, carrying significant emotional burden without adequate support.
Retention risk. The disengagement of men in their forties and fifties represents a particular organisational risk. These are often your most experienced and senior employees. Bernadette noted during the webinar that this group is at heightened risk of quiet withdrawal from the workforce, with consequences that are substantial and frequently underestimated.
Why existing benefits are not reaching men
If your current provision is not being used by the men in your workforce, it is not a utilisation problem. It is a design problem.
Aaron Barnett was direct on this point during the webinar:
"A lot of traditional benefits are too passive in the way they're built. An EAP to many men is synonymous with crisis. Men associate it with having a serious problem, and they don't want to admit they have a serious problem. Rather than using an EAP for everyday health management and optimisation, it becomes a last resort they never reach for."
If the men in your workforce are not engaging with your existing health and wellbeing provision, asking them to engage more is not the answer. The provision needs to be redesigned around how men actually engage with their health, not how we wish they would.
What works: insights from Peppy's clinical team
The webinar panel covered several evidence-based approaches that genuinely move the needle on men's health engagement.
Proactive over reactive provision. Do not wait for men to self-identify as struggling. The health perception gap makes that deeply unlikely. Design entry points that bring men into health conversations early, through onboarding processes, routine check-ins or structured health assessments. Peppy's MOT model works precisely because it is proactive by default.
Frame around performance, not illness. Men engage with language around energy, focus, sleep, fitness and performance. Build your communications around these themes. The clinical support that follows can address deeper issues, but the door has to be opened with language men respond to.
Use gamification deliberately. Scoring mechanisms, health benchmarks and competitive elements are not superficial additions. They are evidence-based engagement strategies. Whether it is a grip strength tester at a benefits fair or a health MOT score in an app, creating measurable outcomes gives men a frame they find motivating. Aaron noted that a blood pressure cuff and grip strength tester placed in Peppy's own office creates organic health conversations every day.
Build culture from the top down. Access to clinical support matters, but if the organisational culture signals that admitting struggle is a career risk, men will not engage regardless of what benefits are available. Dr. George described a CEO he had encountered who spoke openly and regularly about his own experience of depression, specifically to set a tone that cascaded through the entire organisation:
"He wanted everyone to understand: I'm leading this company, I'm in this position, and I'm so happy to talk about having depression. I want all of you to share your experience too. That sets a tone of openness that has a huge impact."
Think year-round, not just awareness weeks. Men's Health Awareness Week creates an important moment to start conversations. But the men in your workforce are navigating health challenges every week of the year. The organisations making meaningful progress treat men's health as an ongoing priority, not an annual calendar event.
How Peppy's Men's Health MOT works
Peppy's clinician-led men's health MOT was designed specifically to address the structural barriers that prevent men from engaging with health support.
Rather than requiring men to self-identify as struggling, the MOT creates a proactive and structured entry point. Delivered through the Peppy app, it allows men to complete a clinician-designed health assessment covering cardiovascular risk, lifestyle factors, mental wellbeing, metabolic health and relationship difficulties.
The format matters. Answering questions through an app removes the social pressure of disclosure to another person, which clinical experience confirms significantly improves the honesty of responses.
Crucially, the MOT is not a standalone tool. Every completion triggers a practitioner follow-up. The assessment opens a door. The clinical relationship keeps it open.
During the webinar, a testimonial was shared from a man whose participation in the process led to the detection of a serious health condition:
"Undoubtedly, it's given me the option of a cure, and with it, the future opportunity to continue to lead an active life. Another six months, and it could well have been a whole different outcome."
How to build the business case for men's health support
For HR and benefits leaders who need to make the case internally, the evidence base is strong.
Deloitte's research shows that for every pound invested in employee mental health, the average return is £5 for the organisation. Men's health conditions that go unmanaged are significant drivers of the absence and productivity costs already sitting in your workforce data.
Bernadette offered practical guidance for those starting from scratch:
"Look at your absence rates, your retention rates, look at what your existing benefits are actually being used for. Look for areas where improvements can be made and ask whether there is parity in your workforce. There is so much information now that you can draw on to build a compelling case."
Dr. Alex added a broader point that applies regardless of organisational size or sector:
"Fundamentally, a happy and healthy workforce is a clear fundamental to any prosperity or success. Sometimes just making those points, drawing on case evidence where you need to, and reminding people that this stuff matters, is enough."
If your internal data already shows higher absence rates among men, lower benefit utilisation or engagement scores that do not fully reflect what your line managers are seeing on the ground, those are your starting points. The health perception gap is almost certainly a contributing factor.
The single change that would make the biggest difference
When asked what one change he would make to how men engage with their health, Dr. Alex’s answer was:
"I would have men acknowledge and be aware of what they feel, physically or mentally, and act upon that at the earliest possible opportunity. People leave it until they're in absolute despair before getting help. Act early. It's much easier."
That shift from crisis response to early engagement is exactly what employers are positioned to enable. You have access to your workforce every day. You have the ability to create culture, provide access and design benefits that reach people before things go wrong.
The perception gap is real. But it is not fixed. With the right provision, the right culture and the right entry points, men do engage. They do open up. And when they do, the outcomes for them and for your organisation are significant.
Frequently Asked Questions about men's health in the workplace
What is the men's health perception gap? The men's health perception gap describes the significant difference between how men subjectively rate their own health and what clinical data actually reveals. Peppy's analysis found that 68% of men rated their health as good or better, while 72% were not meeting basic exercise recommendations and over 50% were experiencing stress or anxiety.
Why do men underutilise employee health benefits? Men tend to associate formal health and wellbeing tools, particularly EAPs, with crisis rather than everyday health management. Most existing provision is passive and requires employees to self-identify as struggling, which the health perception gap makes unlikely. Effective men's health benefits are proactive, goal-framed and designed around how men actually engage with their health.
What should employers do for Men's Health Awareness Week? Men's Health Awareness Week is a useful moment to launch or promote men's health initiatives. However, sustainable impact requires year-round provision rather than a single awareness campaign. Employers should use the week to introduce proactive tools such as health MOTs, establish peer networks, and create cultural conditions that make it safe for men to engage with health support throughout the year.
How do you make a business case for men's health support? Start with your existing workforce data. Look at absence rates, benefit utilisation patterns and retention figures. Cross-reference with published research on the cost of unmanaged men's health conditions. Deloitte's findings on the return on investment for mental health provision, 3.70 pounds for every pound spent, provide a strong foundation. Supplement with clinical data on the specific conditions affecting working-age men, including cardiovascular risk, low testosterone and fertility challenges.
What does good men's health provision look like in practice? Good provision is proactive rather than reactive, accessible through everyday tools rather than crisis services, and framed around performance and optimisation rather than illness. It includes structured health assessments, one-to-one access to specialist clinicians, and cultural reinforcement from leadership. Peppy's clinician-led men's health MOT is one example of how this can be implemented at scale.
Next steps
If you are ready to move beyond awareness and build something that genuinely reaches the men in your workforce, Peppy can help.
Peppy's clinician-led men's health support gives employees unlimited, confidential access to specialist practitioners through a simple app, covering cardiovascular health, testosterone, mental wellbeing, fertility, lifestyle optimisation and more. The proactive MOT model surfaces risk early, before it becomes absence, disengagement or attrition.
Book a call with the Peppy team to explore what specialist men's health support could look like in your organisation.
This article is based on insights shared during Peppy's Men's Health Awareness Week webinar, featuring Dr. Alex George, Bernadette Kilbane (Lead Men's Health Practitioner, Peppy) and Aaron Barnett (Director of Lifestyle Healthcare, Peppy).