Menstrual cycle awareness programmes will help end period taboo in the workplace 

Companies now offer menstrual cycle awareness programmes to support employees and improve communications. It's a win-win development, and will help to end the taboo about periods, says Sharon Ni Chonchuir 

Picture: iStock  

A recent survey by Fórsa, Ireland’s largest public service union, found that two-thirds of women wouldn’t tell their line manager about menstrual difficulties at work, especially if their manager was a man. However, many Irish workplaces are trying to change this culture by creating an environment where menstruation is openly discussed, understood, and supported.

Kate Gaffey is one of the pioneers in this field. She worked in finance and as a business consultant in Dublin for more than a decade before she set up Workplace Wellness in 2014.

One of the programmes she runs is menstrual cycle awareness for the workplace, which encourages employees to speak up and advises managers on how to support staff sensitively.

“It means bringing in more compassion, empathy and understanding in creating frameworks for how to work with those experiencing a cycle,” Gaffey says.

“This isn’t just a women’s issue — whether at work or home, we all know at least one person who experiences a menstrual cycle. What a gift it would be if we were all aware of the changing energy of that cycle, if we created empathy and understanding around it, and if we could work with rather than against it.”

Historically, menstruation has been ignored in the workplace. “I knew it affected how women feel, what we think, and our bodies,” says Gaffey. “But I’d never heard anyone mention it. That’s why I started talking about it and now, educating men and women about the implications of the menstrual cycle is a growing part of my business.”

Progress is being made internationally in supporting the needs of menstruating women. Earlier this year, Spain’s cabinet approved a bill granting paid leave of up to three days a month for women suffering from severe period paid. It’s the first European country to advance such legislation, but Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan already offer similar leave.

The Fórsa survey showed Ireland might be ready to move in a similar direction. More than 70% of the 1,800 women interviewed had called in sick due to period pain. Some 96% favoured introducing a menstrual-friendly policy in their workplace but only 1% said their employer had one in place.

Another 70% reported that working from home had improved their experience of menstruation because they had ready access to a clean, private toilet and period products and painkillers.

Kate Gaffey.

Energy flows during cycle

These are just some of the topics that Gaffey discusses as part of her programme, which starts with understanding how energy ebbs and flows as women move through their cycle.

“Women’s hormones are different daily, which means we think and feel differently,” she says. “This can be challenging in a linear world which expects each of us to turn up and be the same every day. By understanding our own rhythms, we can work more effectively, embracing our strengths and working with our weaknesses in each phase. The programme offers an education in the energetics of the menstrual cycle and how to optimise it for your work.”

The response from men has been especially heartening. “Men have said that they are happy to be invited into this space, rather than excluded from it,” says Gaffey.

So far, her work has focused on education.

“We’re breaking the taboo around menstruation, which is important, but I’d love to see more integration of what we’re talking about,” she says.

This could mean being offered menstrual leave, having easy access to period products and clean, private bathrooms, or open, non-judgemental discussions around menstruation being encouraged in the workplace.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, a trade union with a predominantly female membership, is actively campaigning for some of these proposals to be implemented.

“We have called for government and healthcare organisations to provide access to free menstrual supplies with appropriate disposal facilities in all public toilets in clinical areas, public and government buildings, schools and institutions of higher education,” says its communications officer Beibhinn Dunne.

“We also want to ensure that tampons and period pads are not subject to Vat, that we extend the zero-rate treatment to include all menstrual products, and work towards changing periods through education and advertising campaigns to normalise discussions and decrease stigma.”

Gaffey believes that workplaces in Ireland will only benefit from adopting work policies and practices that support women’s menstrual cycles.

“We shouldn’t ignore menstruation in the workplace any longer,” she says.

“We [need to] educate people about the cycle so that it’s more understood and respected — so that there is less suffering and shame and women are supported to work to the best of their abilities.”

Kate Gaffey

Menstrual health policy

Republic of Work, a co-working and innovation hub in Cork City, introduced a menstrual health policy in January.

“We were asking ourselves what policies we could implement to maximise staff retention,” says Caroline Kennedy, the hub’s operations manager. “We couldn’t afford to raise wages at the time, so we needed policies that would be free or relatively inexpensive while also improving the quality of everyone’s work lives.”

The hub is run by a team of eight consisting of five women and three men. “We offered everyone a four-day week and birthdays off work and implemented a menstrual health policy which gives staff flexibility around their working hours,” says Kennedy.

This means that women can work from home if they feel unwell with menstrual symptoms.

“It basically gives them a choice around where and when they work,” says Kennedy.

As well as this, period pads and tampons are available free of charge in the hub’s toilets.

There was open communication about these new policies. “We sent everyone an email and had a meeting about it too,” says Kennedy. “We thought that was important because we want to put an end to the culture of women having to hide their periods. The more we talk about it, the more normal it becomes. The lads were a bit shy about it at the beginning, but they are well used to it now.”

All of this has made a discernible difference to life in the office. “When women get their periods now, they can call in to say they’re going to work from home,” says Kennedy. “In the past, they might have taken the day off, which meant a backlog of work or extra work piling up for someone else. That doesn’t happen anymore.”

This openness has improved communication.

“Because the taboo around periods is gone, our female employees no longer have to come up with vague excuses about why they are taking time off or going home early,” says Kennedy.  “It’s improved relations between employees and management.”

She recommends the policy for businesses: “It’s a small change that costs very little but with a little education, the embarrassment factor fades away, and you’re left with only benefits for the business."