Corporate Speaking & Events
Male midlife is an overlooked workplace transition. It can appear as disengagement, withdrawal, overwork, a loss of direction, or an experienced man quietly questioning everything he has built.
The Hades Effect gives men language for what they may be experiencing, while managers and HR gain a practical framework for recognising and responding to it.
Men are often described as reluctant to talk about their mental health. But it is difficult to discuss something you do not recognise or know how to describe.
Many men reach their forties and fifties knowing that something has changed, but without the awareness or language to understand it. They continue working, leading and carrying responsibility. From the outside, everything can look fine.
At work, the transition may sometimes appear as:
Male midlife does not explain every performance or wellbeing issue. But when it is present, both the organisation and the man himself can miss what is happening.
Poor mental health is estimated to cost UK employers £51 billion each year, with £24 billion attributed to presenteeism (Deloitte, 2024).
Jonathan Flynn's corporate wellbeing session introduces The Midlife Map, his proprietary framework for understanding and navigating the male midlife transition.
Jonathan combines research, 25 years of corporate experience and his own lived experience to explain what may be changing and what constructive action can look like.
The Map moves through three stages. Beneath each sits the work that actually drives it.
An honest look at what has changed and why. This is where a man first sees the transition for what it is.
The work begins with a decision: to stop and look honestly, rather than push on and hope it passes.
Understanding has to become action. Support can be available, but the man must take responsibility for what happens next.
The work becomes action: taking accountability and building on solid ground rather than waiting to be rescued.
The second half, approached with intent. Not a return to who he was, but a deliberate step towards who he chooses to become.
The work becomes discipline: consistently keeping the promises you make to yourself, long after the motivation fades.
Decision. Action. Discipline.
A structured 60 to 90 minute session, tailored to your organisation and delivered virtually or in person.
The purpose is not to diagnose or treat. It is to provide awareness, language and a practical way forward.
Everything in the core session, plus:
No individual responses are identified or shared.
Pricing is provided following an initial conversation about your audience and objectives.
November is the month the UK talks about men: Men's Mental Health Awareness Month, Movember and International Men's Day (19 November) all land together. Most organisations mark it with a moustache and a fundraising page - and the men who most needed the conversation watch it happen from their desks.
A talk gives the month its substance. As a men's mental health speaker, Jonathan delivers the session above as the centrepiece of a Movember or Men's Mental Health Month programme: a serious, practical hour on the male midlife transition that gives men language for what they may be carrying, and gives managers and HR a framework for responding. It pairs naturally with whatever fundraising or awareness activity your organisation is already running.
November diaries fill early. If you want a session - virtual or in person - during Movember or for International Men's Day, the 20-minute conversation is the place to start. You can also read our guide to Men's Mental Health Month and what workplaces can do.
Jonathan spent 25 years in executive recruitment, working alongside C-suite and director-level leaders through career decisions, organisational change and professional transition.
He developed The Midlife Map after navigating his own midlife transition and finding no framework that adequately explained the complete experience.
Today, Jonathan works privately with chief executives and senior leaders, and with organisations seeking to understand and support men through midlife.
"Jonathan is an outstanding speaker and deeply knowledgeable on the subject of midlife men, the challenges they face and what to do about it."
"It's the first thing I've read that has helped me fully understand exactly where I'm at and why I feel like I do."
A concise four-page overview of the workplace evidence, The Midlife Map and what the corporate session includes.
Yes. November is the busiest month for this work, and the session is built for it: a men's mental health talk with substance behind the moustaches. Virtual or in person, 60 to 90 minutes, tailored to your organisation.
In the UK, November - alongside Movember and International Men's Day on 19 November. In the United States, Men's Mental Health Month is observed in June. Jonathan speaks for organisations year round; November simply books up first.
The male midlife transition: why experienced men disengage, withdraw or quietly question everything while looking fine, what is actually happening underneath, and what men, managers and HR can each do about it. Practical, honest and grounded in The Midlife Map - not a lecture about statistics.
As early as possible - November dates go first, and a tailored session needs a short planning conversation beforehand. If November is full, an International Men's Day follow-up or a January session often lands even better, after the awareness month noise has passed.
Arrange a 20-minute conversation with Jonathan to discuss your organisation, your audience and whether the session is right for your people.
Book a 20-minute conversationMidlife is not a crisis. It is an opportunity.
The Way Is Through