Movember is one of the best known and recognised awareness campaigns. It’s become a global movement that raises awareness and funds for men’s health, focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, men’s mental health and suicide prevention.
Taking place across November, the campaign is named after a ‘Mo’ – the Australian nickname for a moustache. But behind the fun there’s a serious message. It’s all about sparking conversations about men’s health issues – with the ultimate goal in seeing men live longer and healthier lives.
At Cordell Health we want to both promote better workforce health and wellbeing, as well as help employers to engage with their workforce on health. That’s why we see every reason to support Movember. What’s more, we want to show employers that they too can get involved, playing a vital part in supporting men’s health.
Men’s health – the numbers behind the issues
As the Movember campaign explains, men’s health is in crisis. Men are dying on average 4.5 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons.
To show why Movember is so important, and give employers an even bigger reason to get involved, we’ve looked at the numbers behind the main conditions and issues Movember seeks to support:
Prostate cancer: It’s the most common cancer in UK males and has a similar number of annual cases as breast cancer. In 2024, more than 58,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in England, a 9% increase from the previous year. According to Prostate Cancer UK, there has been a 25% increase in cases between 2019 and 2023.
Testicular cancer: In the UK, around 2,400 to 2,500 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year, making it the most common cancer in men aged 25-49 – although rates are projected to fall by 6% by 2040.
Men’s mental health: Sadly, many men just don’t talk about their mental health. Research by the Priory Group in the UK found that 40% of men have never spoken to anyone about their mental health. 29% of those say they are “too embarrassed” to speak about it, while 20% say there is a “negative stigma” on the issue. This is exactly why Movember exists – to help to normalise conversations and lift the stigma.
Suicide prevention: Suicide data is complex, but in essence rates in men are 3-4 times higher than in women. Movember wants to raise awareness of suicide prevention as men’s mental health struggles often go unrecognised or undiagnosed. And this isn’t helped by some men’s poor social connections which make conversations even harder to have.
How employers can get involved with Movember
We’re focusing on a mix of ideas involving fundraising for the campaign itself, but also embedding some of the messages from the campaign to build a workplace culture that better supports employee wellbeing for everyone.
Our 5 suggestions are:
- ‘Grow a Mo’ – and get behind the challenge: Why not publicise Movember and encourage employees to grow moustaches throughout November and turn it into a fun, friendly competition? You could have a leaderboard or photo wall to track moustache progress, and award prizes for the best – and worst!
- Organise fundraising events: Don’t forget the fundraising objective – perhaps create a company fundraising page on Movember.com so colleagues, clients, and customers can donate. Other ideas could include fitness challenges across the month and quiz nights with proceeds going to Movember.
- Create team events: Encourage everyone (not just those growing moustaches) to get active. This can be a highly engaging experience for all. Team runs, walks, or cycling events with sponsorships will all help raise vital funds.
- Match employee donations: As well as supporting the campaign, it’s highly engaging if organisations make a contribution of their own. As part of this you can promote the total raised to celebrate collective impact. It’s also motivational to recognise participants at the end of the month.
- Promote men’s health conversations: This is where you have the potential to make a lasting impact beyond the fundraising – and it’s exactly why Movember exists. So, use Movember as a platform to encourage open discussion about men’s mental and physical health. As part of creating a wider culture of wellbeing, you could run lunch-and-learn meetings on topics like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental wellbeing. And why not extend this to women’s health, perhaps bringing in guest speakers on wellbeing topics, and building the conversations into your workplace culture.
Movember resources
The Movember site has comprehensive articles and tips to make having conversations about men’s health easier. Many find the idea of talking to someone about their mental health daunting, and one of the many helpful articles covers how to prepare for a tough conversation. If you are going to get involved with promoting Movember in your organisation, you’ll find the site hugely valuable.
https://uk.movember.com/support-us/workplace-fundraising-resources
https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/give-support
Conclusion
Movember seeks to raise awareness of the three biggest health issues facing men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Sadly, many men feel unable to talk about their problems or symptoms and many deaths are preventable. That’s why by supporting Movember, organisations have an opportunity to help raise vital awareness that might just save lives – and help build a strong culture of workplace wellbeing.
Further reading
From the Cordell Health blog:
Men’s health – spotting the warning signs and raising awareness
