Menopause Awareness Day: how to tackle this common threat to your peoples’ wellbeing

Held on 18th October every year, Menopause Awareness Day aims to draw attention to the menopause, its effects on those that experience it, and the resources and support available to make going through it as easy as possible.

Menopausal symptoms can be very disruptive, which is why, as an employer, it’s vital that you understand the effects the menopause can have on your people, how you can look to offer support, and the wide-reaching benefits of doing so.

Key takeaways

1. Learn what the menopause is and what its effects are
2. Understand why offering menopause support should be a priority for you as an employer
3. Discover how you can do it and the key benefits to your people and organisation

A considerable threat to productivity

The menopause is caused by a lowering in hormone levels triggered by the end of a person’s menstrual cycle. This usually happens naturally with age but can also be brought on by certain surgeries or treatments, or because of genetics – sometimes, the reason is unknown¹. Symptoms can be both physical and psychological in nature, and tend to be very disruptive to concentration, mood, and overall wellbeing. You have likely heard of the commonly cited symptoms including hot flushes and mood swings, but the menopause can also cause things like:

• Low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression
• Joint and muscle pain
• Particularly painful headaches and migraines
• Worsened memory and/or concentration (brain fog)
• Heart palpitations¹

You can see how these could potentially affect productivity in not only those affected, but the teams they lead or operate in, and consequentially your organisation as a whole.

People want support from their employer

The average age to start experiencing menopausal symptoms is 51², which puts those most likely to be going through the menopause in the fastest growing age demographic of workers in the UK³ and Ireland⁴. 
Not only is this therefore a problem that affects a growing number of the UK and Irish workforce, but it’s also a problem that stats suggest is not being properly addressed by employers. In a recent UK survey, 87% of people suggested they weren’t getting the right support at work⁵ to manage the effects of menopausal symptoms, and a survey in Ireland discovered that 77% of people wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about menopause with their manager⁶. 

A loss of productivity could also be among the least of your worries as, alongside family commitments, the effects of menopause has caused millions of people to consider completely abandoning their careers⁵. This means that offering menopause support could represent a vital element of your talent retention strategy, be a key driver for maintaining good employee wellbeing in your workplace.

What employers can do

Having illustrated the issue, here are a few suggestions for what you can do to better support and retain those going through the menopause:

1. Break the taboo

• Encourage open conversation and communication at work
• Take the time to educate your people to avoid misconceptions or incorrect assumptions
• Ensure bullying and discrimination is treated seriously and dealt with diligently, and that the process to report it is simple, discreet, and widely known

2. Supportive employee benefits

• Extra time off to attend doctor appointments
• Benefits that make treatment cheaper and more accessible
• Access to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

3. Make small office or role adjustments

• Implement flexible working and hours to help people manage their symptoms on their own terms
• Combat hot flushes by allowing a more relaxed dress code or greater access to temperature control, such as fans, air conditioning, or an openable window 
• Configure the workspace to ensure convenient access to bathroom facilities