Advances & Challenges in Menopause Workplace Support
Challenges and continued calls for menopause support at work
In 2023, there was a significant leap forward in recognising menopause as a crucial workplace concern. Helen Tomlinson became the DWP’s Menopause Employment Champion, leading efforts to initiate discussions with businesses and improve support for menopausal employees across different sectors. Another milestone moment was the publication of the first-ever workplace menopause standard by the British Standards Institute. So far, so good!
However, as the year ended we saw the publication of a survey highlighting the continued and pressing need for comprehensive menopause workplace support. Despite advances made, the report underscores the importance of ongoing efforts to ensure that workplaces are truly equipped to address the multifaceted challenges faced by menopausal employees.
A survey by the union Unite, of over 11,000 female members was published in late December 2023, a bleak Christmas gift, that shed light on the stark reality of many women experiencing menopause symptoms who still lack critical access to any support in UK workplaces.
What did menopausal employees say?
Lack of Support: An astounding 83% of women surveyed, reported having zero access to menopause support at work, highlighting a critical gap in workplace assistance.
Communication blocks: Many women said they were uncomfortable discussing menopause at work, especially in male-dominated environments where managers often seemed oblivious to health implications.
Absence of Necessary Adjustments: Denied reasonable adjustments, women find themselves working through debilitating experiences like hot flushes. These include the refusal of necessities like fans or leave of absence.
Voices from the Field: Employees shared experiences, including being on the receving end of pejorative and judgemental comments and having to face unsafe working conditions due to severe menopausal symptoms.
A woman working in civil air transport highlighted the discomfort of working in a uniform that intensified hot flushes, compounded by the lack of a suitable space for changing. Response to requests for improved cooling options at outdoor sites to alleviate hot flushes, was notably inadequate, to say the least – an offer of sunscreen! This support proposal highlights the glaring gap in basic menopause awareness among employers and managers, underscoring the urgent need for education and understanding in the workplace.
Calls for change:
The respondents' calls for action, included:
Making menopause awareness and understanding compulsory for employers.
Excluding menopause-related sickness from sick leave calculations.
Scrapping uniform materials like polyester.
Conducting audits to identify menopause-friendly employers.
Beyond the personal challenges faced by some menopausal women, the absence of adequate support has broader implications. Premature exits from the workforce contribute to the perpetuation of the gender pay gap, as well as the loss to the business of valuable skills, knowledge, and experience which leaves with the employee. With an ageing workforce, businesses urgently need to recognise and prioritise menopause support as an integral aspect of their organisational structure.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, emphasised the urgency of addressing this serious industrial matter, asserting that attitudes must shift to create lasting improvements for everyone in the workplace with a collective effort to create real change in supporting women dealing with menopause at work.
January 2024
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