'I want menopause to be as deeply embedded in workplace policies as pregnancy'

Employers risk losing experienced female members of staff if they fail to offer support during menopause

Catherine O’Keeffe, menopause workplace consultant, finds more and more employers are being proactive. Picture: Dave Meehan

Approximately 570,000 women are going through menopause in Ireland right now. Some 350,000 of these women are in paid employment and according to a 2021 survey, many are struggling.

Of the 1,152 interviewed for the Menopause Hub and the business representative group IBEC survey, 43% had considered giving up work entirely and 12% had already done so due to their symptoms. 

Almost four in ten women said they missed work because of menopause. While 52% said menopause had affected their performance at work a little, 30% said it had affected it a lot.

Next Monday, October 18, is World Menopause Day and Loretta Dignam, founder of the Menopause Hub, says it’s time we addressed the issues facing women in the workplace.

“We’ve worked hard for gender equality, reducing the gender pay gap, and promoting women into senior roles and board positions,” she says. 

“The average age of perimenopause is 45 and menopause is 51. We can’t afford to lose women at a stage when they are often moving into more senior positions and taking on more responsibility in their careers. It’s time to open up the conversation, destigmatise menopause and help women move through what is just another stage in their lives.”

Catherine O’Keeffe is a menopause workplace consultant and finds more and more employers are being proactive.

“There are financial implications to ignoring this issue,” she says. “A recent study found that $150bn is lost in productivity globally due to menopause every year. 

"There’s a loss of talent too. 

Women want to continue working and if they are supported through menopause and helped to get a handle on their symptoms, they will remain in the workplace and move into a more empowering, confident stage of their life and their career.

Getting women to that stage is what the likes of O’Keeffe and Dignam do through the menopause training they offer to company employees, HR professionals and managers.

“I want menopause to be as deeply embedded in workplace policies as pregnancy and maternity are,” says O’Keeffe. 

“Not every woman gets pregnant during her lifetime, but all women go through menopause. It’s imperative that they are supported as they go through it at work.”

The training they offer informs management and HR professionals about menopause symptoms and how they can affect employees.

“The Menopause Hub Survey found that the top five symptoms affecting women at work are hot flushes, anxiety, fatigue, brain fog and concentration issues, and insomnia,” says Dignam.

“During training, we discuss the various symptoms and the supports and reasonable accommodations that organisations can offer to help with them as well their duty of care under the Health and Safety Act.

"Our study shows that the lack of support for menopause is pushing skilled and experienced women out of the workforce, but this isn’t the only risk employers take if they ignore this issue. There’s a legislative risk too.”

Employee health and wellbeing

Linda Hynes, a Dublin-based partner in the employment division at legal firm Lewis Silkin, agrees.

“While there is no specific legal obligation to actively support employees experiencing menopause, it could fall into their general obligation to ensure employee health and wellbeing in the workplace,” she says.

It could also lead to claims on the grounds of gender, age or disability discrimination.

“An employment tribunal in the UK found there was direct discrimination in a case where the employer didn’t consider whether menopausal symptoms were the reason for an employee’s poor performance when other medical issues would not have been ignored in the same way,” says Hynes. 

“We expect to see more claims around discriminatory treatment in Ireland as knowledge and awareness about menopause and its impact on work increases among employees.”

Making jokes and comments about menopause could fall under the definition of sexual harassment, according to Hynes. 

“Employers could be liable for this conduct when they have not taken steps to prevent it from happening or dealt with complaints correctly. Taking all these potential challenges into account, it’s important for employers to be proactive around menopause.”

Rather than alarm employers with talk of litigation, O’Keeffe reassures them that the solution is simple.

“There are lots of things employers can do on an everyday level to support their employees,” she says. 

“They can look at internal supports that are already available through Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), what might be on offer through private healthcare or practical things like installing fans on women’s desks.”

Small changes like this can make a big difference. O’Keeffe conducted her own study of 600 menopausal women in 2021 and of the improvements they would like to see in the workplace.

Some 48% listed fans, 25% shower facilities, and 69% access to a nearby toilet.

Almost half of menopausal women said they would like fans in the workplace 

“It’s all about trying to accommodate women and changing what you can to make their experiences better,” she says. 

“For example, if women have urinary issues, you could discuss changing the location of their desks so that they are closer to a toilet.”

She points out that many menopausal women have psychological symptoms too.

“In my study, 77% suffered from brain fog, 65% from anxiety, and 60% from loss of confidence,” she says. 

“EAPs often give employees access to psychological supports and employers should make it known that these are available.”

Two-way communication

Dignam believes the menopause conversation has to be two-way if workplaces are to become more supportive of women.

“In the Menopause Hub survey, 70% of women lacked the confidence to discuss menopause with their manager or employer and 60% lacked the confidence to discuss it with colleagues,” says Dignam.

“Education and training is the first step to starting that conversation. 

"When it’s accompanied by employers introducing reasonable accommodations and letting women know that these accommodations are available, women are encouraged to open up and seek the supports they need.”

In some ways, the pandemic has accelerated this dialogue.

“Covid has been good for menopause,” says O’Keeffe. 

“Companies were looking for ways to support their employees and menopause was making headlines in the media. They started talking about it with their employees, saw the positive response, and it’s since become a bigger discussion.”

Ireland, with Britain, is leading the way for women who want to work through menopause. 

Of the 272 HR managers interviewed by the Menopause Hub, 79% said that menopause was relevant to their organisation and 25% said it was very likely they would introduce menopause-specific supports in the next two years.

“Countries like the US are only starting to look at this issue while we’re leading the way,” says Dignam.

Lidl is one of the companies in this vanguard. The retailer launched its menopause awareness and support resource in November 2021.

“This resource is designed to ensure women suffering from menopausal symptoms feel empowered to ask for adjustments to ease symptoms without embarrassment, can carry out their daily role in a safe working environment, and can have open discussions with colleagues and line managers so they feel part of an inclusive work culture,” says Maeve McCleane, chief people officer with Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Maeve McCleane, Chief People Officer with Lidl

A factor that prompted Lidl to introduce such a resource was the fact that 45% of its employees are women.

“Menopause has or will affect almost half our workforce,” says McCleane. “That makes it hugely important to all of us in the business, not just the female cohort.”

The resource includes an awareness guide detailing the supports available to employees, including paid sick leave and one-to-one consultations with menopause experts. 

The company also provides a confidential counselling service.

“We know that our people do their best work when they are valued and supported in a workplace that is inclusive,” says McCleane. 

“We’re confident that our focus on tailoring policies to the health and wellbeing needs of all employees will be key to fostering a positive environment for women in the workplace for many years to come.”