By Rick van den Bosch, Director of Talent Development, Trivium Packaging
The Movember movement provides a vital reminder that prioritising the mental well-being of your people is one of the most important investments a company can make.
In demanding, shift-based environments like ours, our focus is on unlocking the full potential of our team by prioritising a culture of support, empathy, and open dialogue over outdated norms of stoicism.
In the manufacturing industry, it is not uncommon to have a large male employee base. Employees face specific challenges, including irregular hours due to round-the-clock shifts, high physical workloads, and required mental alertness to ensure safety is a priority. This Movember, we’re not just growing moustaches, we’re actively working to change the narrative. We’re taking decisive action to dismantle the stigma and create a workplace where every man feels safe and supported in prioritising his mental health, driving sharper focus, greater collaboration, and sustained high performance across the business.
The hidden crisis in male-dominated industries
In environments where strength, resilience, and stoicism are valued, the conversation about mental health is often the first thing to be silenced. We must acknowledge that in male-dominated, high-pressure sectors like manufacturing, there is an invisible barrier that can prevent men from asking for help.
This cultural phenomenon, where outdated masculine ideals teach men to ‘’tough it out’’, creates a dangerous silence. Opening up can feel like admitting failure, but we reject that perception. True strength in our industry lies in teamwork, communication, and mutual reliance. The sobering fact remains that globally, two in every three deaths by suicide are by men, underscoring the urgent opportunity we have to work together, break this pattern, and make honest conversation the new expectation for every man.
Moreover, the nature of shift-based work with its irregular hours and social isolation means that when men do struggle, they often mask their distress with external behaviours like anger or withdrawal. This makes symptoms harder to spot, and professional help less likely to be sought. For Trivium, breaking this silence is a matter of safety, retention, and human decency.
Our three steps to culture change
Trivium Packaging’s initiative tackles these challenges with a strategy designed to provide comprehensive support tailored to our workforce.
- Raise awareness and normalise conversation
This Movember, we are prioritising normalising conversations about stress, anxiety, and burnout. Our internal campaigns focus on the powerful act of checking in, encouraging specific, meaningful questions like “How are you doing, really?” This initiative is coupled with awareness campaigns for physical health issues like prostate and testicular cancer, reinforcing that a proactive approach to all health is a sign of strength.
- Provide support
In a shift-based environment, traditional 9-to-5 resources simply don’t work. Our people need flexible, confidential mental health support tailored to their schedules. We ensure this through:
- 24/7 counselling: Offering access to employee assistance programmes (EAP) that provide round-the-clock professional counselling, removing time-of-day barriers.
- Self-help tools: Curating digital resources and apps that offer self-paced support for stress reduction techniques and sleep optimisation during breaks.
- Peer networks: Establishing informal peer support groups where men can connect “shoulder-to-shoulder” with colleagues, offering a more effective and less formal route to open up than a clinical setting.
- Empower leaders and colleagues
Culture change doesn’t happen from a memo, it happens through empowered people. We are investing in training to equip our leaders and colleagues with the skills to check in, listen actively, and show genuine empathy. This advanced training goes beyond basic mental health first aid, teaching managers to recognise subtle signs of distress often displayed by men, like irritability, isolation, risk-taking instead of sadness. The aim is to create a support chain where everyone can initiate a gentle conversation and guide colleagues to resources.
The new standard for manufacturing leadership
By prioritising men’s mental health, Trivium is not just fulfilling a duty of care, we are making a sound strategic investment. We know that healthy, supported employees are more productive, safer, and more engaged. Reducing stress and burnout directly correlates with a reduction in errors, improved focus on safety procedures, and higher overall plant efficiency.
The month of Movember provides a vital platform, but our commitment extends year-round. Every small gesture, the simple check-in, the shared workload, the visible commitment from leadership can make a massive difference in the life of a colleague, a friend, or a family member.
With Movember’s support and a clear, actionable strategy, we are shifting gears. We are actively breaking down the stigma that has harmed generations of men in our industry, building resilience, and helping all our employees thrive on and off the floor. Trivium Packaging is committed to creating safer, stronger, and truly inclusive workplaces, setting a global example for what modern manufacturing leadership must look like.