Workplace Wellbeing: No need to sweat the change at work
There are many measures that can be put in place to help women to stay in the workplace and to continue developing their careers though menopause and beyond.
Many women hit their professional stride in their 40s. Having spent the previous two decades building up experience, they are ready to take on responsibility and move into more senior roles. But then perimenopause hits, throwing a hormonal spanner in the works for many.
“Some 420,000 of the 652,000 perimenopausal and menopausal women in Ireland are in paid employment,” says Loretta Dignam, CEO of the Menopause Hub, a dedicated menopause clinic. “Eighty per cent of those women experience menopausal symptoms and the top five symptoms that impact them at work are brain fog and memory loss, fatigue, a feeling of overwhelm, anxiety and loss of confidence.”
Research carried out by the Menopause Hub shows that these symptoms take a toll on women’s professional lives. “A staggering 84% of the 3,044 women who responded to our 2023 survey said their performance at work had been negatively impacted by menopause,” says Dignam.
“Thirty-seven per cent had taken time off due to symptoms, 18% had taken three or more days off. And 35% had considered giving up work entirely, with 7% going as far as quitting.”
For Dignam, figures like these prove that more needs to be done to support menopausal women in the workplace.
“Of the women we surveyed, 87% believed menopause was still taboo,” she says. “They told us they feared ridicule, being passed over for promotion or discrimination due to menopause. But this need not be the case. With the right culture and supports, menopausal women can thrive at work.”
Catherine O’Keeffe is a menopause workplace educator and the driving force behind tomorrow's Menopause Success Summit in Dublin. She thinks everyone benefits when companies change their work practices to accommodate the needs of menopausal women.
“The labour force is 46% women, and 43.5% of those are in the 45 to 54 age bracket, which is peak time for menopause,” she says. “Studies show that $105bn in productivity is lost to menopause globally each year, so an organisation’s finances stand to improve if they support these women.”
The business representative group IBEC points out other advantages. “Menopause tends to coincide with a time when women are at an advanced stage of their professional career development and have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to share with peers and junior colleagues,” says Fiona Higgins, head of IBEC’s Knowledge Centre.
“Taking the initiative to support women more proactively in the workplace lends itself to being able to retain their valuable skills and talents, increase their job satisfaction and motivation and reduce absenteeism.”
Employers also have a legal duty of care to these women. Although no legislation explicitly refers to menopause or places obligations on employers to support employees through this life stage, Linda Hynes, a partner in the employment division at legal firm Lewis Silkin, says that’s not to say that existing laws aren’t relevant.
“Menopause could, for example, fall into the general obligation to ensure health and safety in the workplace,” she says. “Issues connected to menopause could also lead to claims under existing employment equality legislation in relation to age, disability or gender.”
She explains how health and safety legislation could arguably extend to ensuring that working conditions or practices do not exacerbate women’s menopausal symptoms. “This could mean that employers have to consider matters such as temperature and ventilation in the workplace, the adequacy of restrooms and the materials used in uniforms,” she says.
Hynes emphasises that all employers can take simple steps to comply with the law and offer reasonable accommodations where possible. Such an approach should enable women to continue contributing at work, she says. "It's generally a question of taking appropriate measures to meet people’s needs.”
According to Higgins, the first measure should be raising awareness by organising education and training sessions. “These are especially important for leaders and managers so they can demonstrate their support for women experiencing symptoms of menopause,” she says.
“There are more than 50 symptoms of menopause and women can go through different stages where different symptoms are more challenging,” adds O’Keeffe. “Awareness-raising sessions will need to cover all of this and more, kickstarting a conversation about menopause throughout the organisation.”
A big part of the conversation about menopause in any workplace should revolve around supporting women through times when they are struggling with symptoms.
“There are many simple ways this can be done,” says Dignam.
“Offering flexible working, for example, or time off for medical appointments. Other options include allowing a woman to move her desk to beside a window, installing a fan on her desk or having access to more regular bathroom breaks. Each organisation needs to address their own employee needs and respond appropriately.”
O’Keeffe knows of many organisations spearheading such an approach. “These organisations keep the conversation going because they know that every few years, a new cohort of women enter perimenopause and may need help with a different range of issues,” she says.
“They include the ESB, An Post, Aldi, the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, the county councils and government departments and Bank of Ireland.”
In 2023, the Menopause Hub partnered with the workplace accreditation service Great Places to Work to organise the first-ever Menopause Workplace Excellence (MWE) awards. These awards celebrate workplaces that are working to enable menopausal women to continue developing to their full professional potential.
This year, LIDL secured the first-ever gold-level MWE accreditation for its work to create an inclusive environment for its female employees experiencing menopausal symptoms.
Among last year’s finalists was An Garda Síochána, which had issued a menopause guidance document to its staff. “About 30% of Gardaí are female, as are 70% of Garda staff,” says a Garda spokesperson.
“This document aims to foster a culture in which menopause can be talked about in the workplace without fear or embarrassment and with respect to privacy. It also aims to ensure that those experiencing symptoms are aware of options and facilitated to access supports.”
HealthPoint Pharmacy won the Best Small Company title at the MWE Awards 2023.
“We have 80 staff across seven pharmacies and head office and only six are men,” says Gillian Ryan, the pharmacy group's chief operating officer.
“We wanted to make our entire team aware of what their colleagues might be going through and why they might not be as chatty or able to do their work as well as they normally would.”
Ryan says her organisation’s approach can be summarised in one word — communication. “We’ve started a conversation and it’s ongoing,” she says. “We want all of our employees to feel comfortable talking about their issues and asking for anything that might help them get their work done more easily. Nobody should ever feel they have to keep things hidden.”
Dignam encourages everyone to adopt this same tactic. “Menopause is experienced by 50% of the population but it’s been stigmatised for centuries,” she says.
“Workplaces like HealthPoint Pharmacy are breaking the taboo. They understand why being menopause inclusive makes sense. It’s why they offer support from the top down and educate and train all their staff, making them aware of the full range of adjustments and practices on offer. It’s also why they engage in an ongoing conversation where everyone feels comfortable speaking openly about menopause. The work they do helps women to stay in the workplace and to continue developing their careers though menopause and beyond.”
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