Working with Menopause

I did a social media post covering this subject a few weeks ago regarding some possible H&S issues and since then I have had a number of emails and messages.

Which has been great as most were employers!! They are wanting to support their female staff and also the males are wanting to know how they can support their partners at home.

October is World Menopause Month and on the18th October we celebrated World Menopause Day.

I have suggested to my clients to add some information onto their staff notice boards and also into their H&S documentation.

What is Menopause?

Menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. Periods become less regular. Menopause is a natural part of ageing and usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age.

Symptoms of Menopause

Hot flushes, night sweats, low mood swings, irritability, difficulty sleeping, memory issues, anxiety are the more common ones

Why does menopause matter in the workplace?

• Every woman will experience menopause and approximately 1 in 4 will experience debilitating symptoms.
• There are around 4.4 million women aged 50 and over in employment in the U.K and it is the fastest growing demographic.
• Studies have shown that menopause symptoms can have a significant impact on attendance and performance in the workplace.
• Some women have admitted that they have made small mistakes at work that could of lead to an accident.
• Two thirds of women going through the menopause say they have no support in place at work.
• Quite simply menopause awareness and support in the workplace is a win-win situation for both employers and employees. Menopause education, information and support can be game changers for staff satisfaction and retention and creating a supportive and informed menopause culture within your organisation.
• Over half of working women aged 40-65 have experienced three or more symptoms of the menopause, including hot flushes (47%), night sweats (41%) and feeling tired (35%).
• Two thirds of those with 3 or more symptoms have lost interest in their work or made mistakes.
• Half of all women experiencing three or more symptoms have experienced at least one further detrimental impact on their working lives; including having their relationships with colleagues negatively impacted, having to reduce their working hours or considering resigning.
• Only around 1 in every 20 women aged 40-65 in work are aware of their employer offering proactive policies or support to women around the menopause.
• Six in 10 of those who have experienced 3 or more symptoms would like to see their employer do more while over half say they would feel more positively about a company who had a menopause awareness programme.
• Over a third would like their employers to offer access to specialist menopause advice from a third-party expert, 31% would like their employer to offer a menopause policy.
• Both women and men need to be better equipped to support their colleagues around the menopause.
• Nearly half (48%) of women experiencing 3 or more symptoms of menopause have not spoken to anyone at work about their experiences.
• So really shocking figures and information above.
• If you do not have menopause as a part of your wellbeing policy, I would really suggest you look into it.

We are always happy to help with any consultancy and policy documentation – contact us joanne@chestnutassociates.co.uk