News & Insights
Celebrating Men’s Health Week 2021 at Mercury
Monday, June 14th signals the beginning of Men’s Health Week 2021 and at Mercury, we are encouraging our people to get involved in this promotion of health awareness and are advocating for conversation about this important initiative.
Running until Sunday, June 20th, Men’s Health Week aims to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and to offer support to men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices and activities, along with encouraging the early detection and treatment of health problems.
On average, men die four and a half years earlier than women and also have a higher incidence of death rates for virtually all leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, stroke, and suicide.
We are encouraging all staff to get involved in a number of scheduled initiatives across our project sites and offices through Men’s Health Week in an effort to encourage our people to take better care of their health and remove any stigmas related to asking for help in relation to both physical and mental health issues. A number of people have spoken out about health issues that have affected them and have shared their advice with colleagues.
Gerry Fitzpatrick, who has worked for Mercury on a number of projects over the past twenty years reflected on the importance of early detection of prostate cancer. He said: “I couldn’t emphasize enough that from around fifty years onwards you should get tested by your doctor. Get your blood checked on a regular basis. The secret of catching prostate cancer is catching it early. If you catch it early you’ll increase your chances of successfully treating it.”
Colin Tyrrell, who works on night shifts as a fitter-welder on a technology project in Co Kildare also shared advice with colleagues about the importance of developing regular sleeping patterns.
He said: “I usually finish work at 5 am and get home to bed by 5:45 am. I then get up around 11 am and try to have a normal day, and then in the afternoon, I might go back to sleep for an hour around 2 pm. It takes some getting used to but combined with a healthy diet and a good routine you can develop good habits. I also find listening to podcasts and avoiding watching screens at night to be a big factor in getting a good night’s sleep.”
Our HR team has also circulated a range of informative guides on how staff can keep on top of their health and how to monitor for a range of common illnesses including heart conditions, cancers, diabetes, mental health illnesses, guides on working in the sun and the importance of developing regular sleeping patterns.
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