Men's health

Balance in everyday working life prolongs life

Managing everything that affects you at work on a daily basis requires good nerves. Otherwise there is a risk of(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

 Danger at work, risky leisure behavior and an unhealthy lifestyle mean that men die earlier on average than women. However, with measures to reduce stress in the workplace, men can catch up again.

The good news is that something is happening in terms of health awareness among men. Men are becoming less and less of the "as long as I don't see a doctor, I'm not ill" faction. According to records from the Austrian Health Insurance Fund ÖGK, more than half a million men over the age of 15, or 13%, took advantage of preventive medical check-ups last year. In comparison, 15% of women attend such appointments. Prostate and cancer screening are the most popular.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot of room for improvement. In 2019, the life expectancy of men was 79.3 years, compared to 84 years for women. The difference in terms of healthy life years is smaller: here, the average expectation for men is 63.1 years and for women 64.7 years. The proven genetic advantage of women for a longer life should not be used as an excuse for a risky lifestyle ("It doesn't matter what I do anyway").

The Austrian Men's Health Report revealed what we have always suspected: More dangerous occupations, but also risky leisure behavior (keyword extreme sports), widespread alcohol and nicotine consumption as well as unhealthy nutrition cost valuable lifetime. One focus is on the world of work.

Relationship killer stress
Constantly increasing pressure to perform, time pressure and work stress take their toll. A MEN Männer, Väter, Burschen project run by the Institute for Women's and Men's Health in Vienna, for example, is addressing this issue from the perspective of occupational health care. Health skills and resilience are to be developed in special "men's workshops". Constant stress is a great danger to the heart and blood vessels, increases the risk of stroke and addiction and is a relationship killer. A lack of social contact and no or poor relationships also reduce the number of healthy years that men live.

These psychosocial stresses and the associated reduction in performance and sick leave, particularly in low-paid jobs, mean that it is becoming increasingly important to promote the health of employees in the workplace and in the company.