It’s good to talk - creating a safe space for men

“Here’s the truth. Talking isn’t weakness. Seeking support isn’t failure. And real strength comes from knowing when to lean on others.”

Whether we like to admit it, there remains a societal stigma around men’s mental health and wellbeing. There are still many men who simply don’t know who to turn to with their challenges, don’t know who will hear them out without fear of judgement or worse still, ridicule.

Men are just as susceptible to mental health challenges, and not finding an outlet to alleviate their symptoms can be devastating. According to data from Samaritans, men are 3 times more likely to die by suicide in England than females  and, mental health charity, Mind, reported two in five men say they are feeling worried or low on a regular basis.

This year, we’ve introduced the Centrica’s Men’s Network which started in February 2025 as a safe space dedicated to open conversations, support, and connection for male colleagues. The network was started by a group of colleagues who identified a need for a community to support with the specific challenges they were facing. 

It’s one of 10 employee networks supporting a variety of diverse communities including LGBTQ+, ethnicity and women. At Centrica, we’ve committed to putting inclusion and belonging at the heart of our culture because every colleague counts.  

The Men’s Network is focussed on two key areas to help colleagues across the business; mental wellbeing, and education and role-modelling. 

Mental wellbeing

Be a point of support for men, partners or anyone who wants to understand more about men’s mental health.

Societal pressures and stigma, and traditional gender roles, are one of the factors that lead to higher rates of poor mental health in men   and generally, men often find it difficult to talk about their struggles. 

“I’m 45 now, and when I think back, I realise how often I’ve heard (or even said) phrases like ‘man up.’ Usually, it’s meant as a joke, but if someone is truly struggling, those two words can quickly shut them down, make them feel bad because they feel they should be coping better. You are a MAN after all! We all know the pressures—having to appear strong, lead, put on a brave face when things get tough, even avoiding asking for help because it might be seen as ‘weakness.’

“But here’s the truth. Talking isn’t weakness. Seeking support isn’t failure. And real strength comes from knowing when to lean on others.

“This network is a great opportunity to challenge outdated expectations, to create a space where we can be open, support each other, and maybe change the conversation around what it means to be a man today.” 

– Andy Rice, Head of Cloud Governance in Digital Technology Services

The network’s goal is to build a community where everyone feels comfortable sharing their experiences, supporting each other, and learning about ways to look after their mental health. We’re connecting men from across the business to build those strong relationships and create connections to empower colleagues to be vulnerable and combat isolation and loneliness.

Will Thornton, Customer Delivery Manager for British Gas, shared his experience with how he connected with school dads to help him build a support network at home,

“I'm a father of two girls, 12 and 5, and life can be busy so meeting other friends with different commitments and schedules can be tough. I started talking to other Dad's at the school gates and managed to put together a couple of groups.

“Everyone is a similar age and temperament and live locally so we share off the cuff invitations for days out and meet ups etc. It works really well! It took a while to get going but they now have a life of their own and everyone knows each other. Last year, we went on holiday together to France where all the kids played and looked after one another – it was fantastic.”

Centrica is committed to do everything we can to break down the stigma around mental health and making sure no one has to face these challenges alone. We’re already raising awareness of our network of over 120 Mental Health First Aiders, 24/7 emotional support and company funded healthcare for all colleagues.

Together, we can create a workplace where mental health is just as important as physical health, and everyone feels empowered to take care of themselves and each other!

Education & role modelling

Too often we see behaviour that is unacceptable, we aim to drive the right behaviours & show that the time for inappropriate comments is not acceptable.

A key focus for the network is helping colleagues to be better allies recognising that companies with diverse and inclusive teams perform better, are more innovative, and have higher employee engagement.  

Education is critical to creating a community of allies to role model the behaviours required to build a truly inclusive workplace culture – the Men’s and Women’s Network are collaborating to create a cross-network ally programme to champion allies everywhere. This programme will educate on key topics such as: What does being an ally mean? How can you be a proactive ally?

True allyship doesn’t stop at educating yourself and demonstrating behaviour, it also means having the confidence to call out unacceptable behaviour. By creating this supportive community, we are giving colleagues the tools and confidence they need to be able to do this in a respectful and professional way.

We’ve already made incredible progress to drive gender equality across Centrica, being recognised by The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality. We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without male allyship across all levels of the company. The men’s network will help drive further improvements and enhance allyship embedding inclusion in all aspects of their activity.

Already the network is making a huge impact. The committee is collaborating with existing networks and the wellbeing team to maximise existing resources and are looking to work with external organisations and charities to continue to raise awareness of key issues. The community is buzzing with life, connections are developing and critical conversations are starting. There’s never been a better to time to live by the old adage -  it’s good to talk.