Supporting Menopausal Women in the Workplace

Research suggests that three in five menopausal women are negatively affected at work and this results in thousands of women reducing their hours, not going for promotions, taking time off as sick leave and leaving jobs often at the peak of their careers.

Now there is greater awareness and openness about the menopause in society, organisations can no longer ignore this issue as women are empowered to speak up with the aim of improving the workplace environment for themselves and their female colleagues.

Impact of the perimenopause and menopause at work

Many common symptoms of the perimenopause and menopause can be problematic at work. A lack of sleep, hot flushes, heavy or unexpected periods, urinary urgency, problems with memory and concentration, increased anxiety and a drop in self confidence can all significantly affect your ability to perform at your best. The most common symptoms affecting work are brain fog, tiredness and anxiety. Poorly ventilated rooms, lack of easy access to toilets, restrictive workwear, work related stress and an excessive workload can exacerbate many of these symptoms.

The attitudes of your colleagues and managers will influence how easy it is to be open about your symptoms. Less than a third of women speak up about their menopause at work often due to concerns about others’ reactions and an expected lack of support. Historically, women have suffered in silence and many have left work because of their menopause.

How to help yourself at work

There is plenty you can do to minimise the potential consequences of changing hormones at work. Take control over your own health through eating healthily, exercising regularly, reducing stress, keeping positive sleep habits, reducing alcohol and smoking, and try and be open about your symptoms with family, friends and colleagues. Make time just for you to relax and enjoy activities outside of work and consider taking HRT to alleviate your symptoms and improve your future health.

Be open at work about how your perimenopause or menopause is affecting you, not just with colleagues but with your manager too so they can understand the issues fully and offer appropriate supports.

It can be helpful to know your rights as an employee if you are struggling at work. You have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment and this includes access to ventilation, toilets and water. You have the right to not be harassed or discriminated against (directly or indirectly) especially due to your age, sex or any disability. You have the right to sick pay and annual leave, and you can request flexible working if you have worked for more than 26 weeks at the company.

How managers can help

It is not a manager’s role to become expert in the menopause but they should be a safe place for open and supportive conversations about how your menopause is affecting you at work and they should signpost to additional resources both within the organisation and externally such as accessing healthcare or helpful websites or apps for example.

If you’re a manager yourself, show that you’re willing to discuss the menopause freely and that you will listen with the aim of understanding (not necessarily advice giving) and support your colleague in their journey. If your company has one, know the menopause policy in place but don’t use it as a tick-box exercise so that it can be ‘done and dealt with’. Supporting your menopausal staff will likely be an ongoing dialogue that is required over many months and maybe years.

If there is no menopause policy and/or support groups or menopause mentors within your organisation, raise this with your managers. There are menopause policy templates available online. You could link two or three women together (with their consent) to support each other while more established systems are created.

How organisations can help

Just as with supporting employees’ mental health, how your company approaches the menopause should be an integral part of the workforce agenda. How this looks in practice will vary but some helpful tools and systems include having a robust menopause policy, providing education for all staff, training all managers to recognise the impact it can have and how to support employees, setting up peer support such as menopause cafes, identifying menopause mentors and specialist training for HR and Occupational Health staff. If you are a larger or female majority organisation, you may want to commit to providing staff with access to specialist menopause clinics.

As well as putting specific training and systems in place, there is often a need for change in the workplace culture. An atmosphere of openness and support should be fostered from senior leadership down, where employees feel confident that they can talk about personal health matters free of judgment, discrimination or jokey ‘banter’ about the menopause. A menopause confident organisation is one that spreads a message of hope and help for menopausal women, signposting to effective treatments, offering a variety of support services and showing a real commitment to look after talented and experienced staff.

Once they are identified with the individual, employers must make reasonable adjustments to put measures in place to support the individual to improve their performance, attendance and conduct. Do not tolerate other staff bullying or making jokes about the menopause. If these reasonable adjustments are not put in place and evidenced, and discriminatory remarks go unchecked, there may be grounds for unfair dismissal or discrimination claims from the individual employee.