Publicis Sapient, a digital business transformation company, has joined forces with The Man Cave – an Australian-based preventative mental health and emotional intelligence charity that empowers communities to raise generations of healthy young men – to ensure the organisation is prepared for growth and scale, supporting more boys and young men with life-changing programs.

In line with its strong impetus on fostering mental wellbeing in its own workplace, Publicis Sapient will provide world-leading expertise in digital transformation to The Man Cave, to help scale their organisation on a pro bono basis. Publicis Sapient will work to define a new business and service model that ensures The Man Cave has flexibility to reach wider audiences in both Australia and globally, through face to face and digital engagement.

The Man Cave runs transformational programs for boys and has worked with over 27,000 young men across Australia on early intervention programs. Using evidence-based workshops and expert facilitation, the programs provide boys with the critical emotional and social skills they need to lead flourishing lives for themselves, their relationships and their communities.

Claire Rawlins (lead image), managing director Australia at Publicis Sapient, said: “The mental health of our people is of utmost priority and a pillar of the Publicis Sapient culture. We have been running internal initiatives that champion the wellbeing of our workforce, including training mental health first aiders, providing digital mental health resources and offering free counselling sessions. The mission has been to create an environment where our people can thrive as individuals. Our association with The Man Cave is a natural progression that reiterates our focus on mental health and is a tremendous opportunity to support the cause externally.

“The Man Cave has been doing incredible work and making a real difference with preventative mental health and emotional intelligence programs for our youth. We are delighted to be a partner of choice in its digital transformation journey and look forward to strengthening its mission to make life-changing programs more accessible to young boys through channels that resonate with the new generation,” Rawlins added.

Hunter Johnson, CEO of The Man Cave, added: “The COVID-19 pandemic and months of remote learning for students deprived young men of their typical outlets and support mechanisms. We see teenage boys struggling to stay motivated, needing to re-learn how to socialise with each other after returning to school and feeling unable to engage meaningfully in conversations about critical topics, such as consent and mental health. Boys also feel confusion about their roles in society and a lack of belonging.

“We want to reach out to more boys out there with our programs to build a world in which every young man has respectful relationships, reaches his full potential and contributes to his community. Working with Publicis Sapient will allow us to make our programs more accessible to boys and young men and we are delighted to have them as a partner to guide us in this journey,” Johnson added.

The Publicis Sapient Digital Citizen Survey shows that 57 per cent of Australians have sought treatment for a mental illness in the last year, with prevalence being significantly higher among younger age demographics. The most cited conditions are depression, anxiety, and stress.

Some 72 per cent of those with a mental health condition say that an online consultation for mental health would make them more likely to reach out for help. This perspective is notably higher among younger populations (who are also more likely to have sought treatment) with Gen Z at 72 per cent and Millennials at 80 per cent compared to Gen X at 59 per cent. Overall, 70 per cent of Australians say they are comfortable with line text or video-based assistance with mental health counselling. Comfort with digital support is higher (75 per cent) among those with a mental health condition in comparison to those who don’t (63 per cent).

“Research shows that digital services can make a big difference when it comes to mental health, both in terms of encouraging those with issues to reach out for help and making support more accessible for those who need them the most. Our association with The Man Cave is a step in the right direction to pave the path of making preventative mental health programs more accessible to young men,” Rawlins added.