The Middle Man Workshop
A half-day session for the men in your organisation who may be holding it together on the outside, but struggling on the inside.
One in four men say they have no close friends. Men in midlife are disproportionately represented in burnout statistics, in absence data, and in the most serious mental health outcomes, including suicide. And yet in most organisations, men - particularly senior men - are the group least likely to engage with the wellbeing support on offer.
The reasons are well documented. Men don't ask for help. They don't use EAPs. They don't attend the yoga sessions or the mindfulness workshops. They've spent decades equating self-sufficiency with strength, and the idea of being seen to struggle feels like a professional risk.
The Middle Man Workshop is built around that reality. It doesn't ask men to be vulnerable in a room full of colleagues. It meets them where they are - practical, honest, no flannel - and gives them tools they can actually use.
What The Workshop Is
A half-day facilitated session for groups of 8 to 20 men, led by me, Paul Sutton. The workshop draws on the same research, personal experience and listener stories that underpin the Middle Man podcast and HIKE, my 30-day midlife reset programme.
It's designed for men in their 40s and 50s, though the themes resonate across a much wider age range. It can be run as a standalone session or as part of a broader wellbeing or leadership development programme. It works particularly well for organisations who want to move from raising awareness to building practical skills.
What It Covers
The workshop is structured around four themes that consistently come up in conversations with midlife men.
Identity: who men feel they are in midlife versus who they thought they'd be, and why the gap between those two things is often the source of persistent low-level misery
Connection: the quiet epidemic of male loneliness, why it builds so gradually that most men don't notice it until it's significant, and what can be done about it
Purpose: what happens when men realise they've spent years building a life they're not sure they wanted, and how to start redirecting without blowing everything up
Resilience: not the corporate buzzword version, but the practical question of how men can manage stress, protect their mental health and perform sustainably over the long term
How It Works
I lead the session in a way that feels more like a frank conversation than a training course. There are no icebreakers, no role plays and no requirement for anyone to share anything they don't want to share.
The session combines my personal story with evidence-based frameworks, group discussion and individual reflection exercises. Men leave with a clearer picture of where they are, what they want and what practical steps they can take.
Who It Is Suitable For
- HR and People teams building out their wellbeing strategy
- Organisations with a significant cohort of men in senior or high-pressure roles
- Leadership teams who want to model a different kind of conversation
- Any business where male mental health is an unaddressed risk
What Your Organisation Gets
- A session that reaches the men in your organisation who most need support, and who existing wellbeing provision typically misses
- A measurable contribution to your mental health and wellbeing strategy
- A tangible signal to your male employees that the organisation takes their experience seriously
- And, for the DEI conversation, meaningful evidence that your wellbeing investment works for everyone
Why Me
To discuss your requirements and for information on availability and rates, please contact me at paul@middlemanpodcast.com or on +44 (0)7533 026066.