Menopause in the Workplace

In 1966, Dr Robert Wilson, a New York gynaecologist, published a bestseller called ‘Feminine Power’. In it he referred to menopausal women as ‘Galloping Catastrophes’.

When I first read this, it made me gasp and then laugh. How unkind and unsupportive and yet an apt description of how I felt at the time. At least, I thought, we have moved on from being so dismissive and derogatory about a phase of life which just under half the population will experience.

Have we really moved on?

Are women getting the support, understanding and information they need to navigate this change?  Do they feel they can speak up or do they feel they should stay silent for fear of being judged as weak or as Dr Wilson so eloquently put it as galloping catastrophes.

Women typically reach menopause at 51. Menopause is when you have gone 12 consecutive months without a period. Perimenopause, when hormones start to rollercoaster, is the phase that leads up to menopause and can last anywhere from four to eight years. There is, of course, no typical experience. A quarter of women will breeze through, with no noticeable symptoms. Those that are affected face a long list of debilitating, and at times, bizarre symptoms: joint pain, loss of self-confidence, brain fog, sleep issues, heart palpitations, headaches, tinnitus, hot flushes, fatigue, anxiety and a feeling of loss of self.  “I just don’t feel like myself anymore”, is probably the phrase I hear most often from my health coaching clients.

These symptoms do not appear all at once! They can creep up on a woman or sometimes seem to appear out of nowhere. What’s more – due to factors such as a lack of training for GPs, a taboo still lingering around the subject, silence from the previous generation and maybe because we are expected not to make a fuss – women aren’t putting these symptoms together and saying ‘Ah! This is perimenopause!’

Personally, I wandered around clueless for two years, thinking I had an autoimmune disease or possibly early onset dementia – despite repeatedly talking to my GP, friends, and family, about my symptoms. At one point it became debilitating. I am not alone in this. It is a story I hear from women time and time again.

According to the largest ever survey of perimenopausal and menopausal women in the UK

• 77% find at least one menopause symptom ‘very difficult’
• 84% experience trouble sleeping
• 73% experience brain fog
• 69% of women experience difficulties with anxiety and depression due to menopause
• 44% of women experienced three or more severe symptoms

(from the Fawcett society, published in May 2022 (menopausesupport.co.uk)

How does this impact the workplace?

There are estimated to be around four million women aged 45 to 55 in employment in the UK (CIPD analysis of the Annual Population Survey, infocoponline.es), with women over 50 becoming an increasing percentage of the labour force. According to London’s Faculty of Occupational Medicine, nearly eight out of 10 women go through the menopause while they are still at work. So, I ask my questions again. Have we really moved on?  Are women getting the support, understanding and information they need to navigate this change. Do they feel they can speak up or do they feel they should stay silent for fear of being judged as weak?

In a 2023 survey, carried out by UK trade union Unite, four out of five women stated that their employer provided zero support at work for staff with menopause symptoms. Another 2023 survey, this time carried out by UK workplace-healthcare provider Simply Health, reported 23% of women were considering resigning as a result of the impact of menopause, with a further 14% saying they were planning to hand in their notice. Furthermore, it has been estimated that menopause costs the economy 14 million working days every year, due to time taken off as a result of menopause symptoms. (Menopause in the Workplace, cipd.org).

Yet, women often don’t admit that they are taking time off as a result of their symptoms. As stated in the report from the Fawcett society, ‘Among women who had taken time off due to menopause, 39% had cited anxiety or depression as the main reason on their sick note, rather than share their menopausal status.’ Moreover, ‘41% say they have seen menopause or menopause symptoms treated as a joke by people at work.’

I think we can agree that it’s no joke. These are serious issues and statistics.

How can employers support their staff?

Let’s start with three easy steps, steps that can be built on.

1/ Break the taboo. Open up conversations about menopause, normalise it. It is not something that needs to remain hush hush. Have posters and information up and visible in staff rooms. Raise awareness with workshops, talks and panel discussions. I love listening to the open and honest conversations that flourish, when I deliver a talk or workshop.

2/ Empower and educate managers to support and listen to their staff. Many companies also have a menopause mentor or champion as a first point of contact. Especially, for those are unsure about speaking to management. I am often surprised that no men attend my talks in companies. In five years, only one man has attended. He rather marvellously turned out to be the company’s menopause champion.

3/ Review policy. This may mean simply making small adjustments. Offering flexible working patterns and dress codes. Quiet work areas. Options to take sufficient breaks and work from home on an ad hoc basis. Temperature control and access to fans and water. One of my most well attended talks took place in a glass atrium, on the south-facing side of the building where we all slowly broiled whilst discussing the fact that female hormones significantly affect body temperature.

Times are changing. People are speaking up about menopause. Now is the best time to become a menopause friendly employer.

by Elizabeth Joseph.

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