Menopause, defined as the cessation of menstrual cycles, is a naturally-occurring process in people with ovaries. In the U.S. alone, approximately 1.3 million women enter menopause annually, typically between the ages of 45 and 55.
However, despite the ubiquity of menopause, there are startlingly few conversations about how it impacts women in the workplace—and how their employers can support them through the transition with age-inclusive workplace and menopause policies.
Studies suggest that 11% of people experiencing menopause miss work due to symptoms, contributing to global productivity losses due to menopause of $150 billion a year. And one in 10 women quit their job altogether due to menopause symptoms, shortening the career span of many employees in leadership positions.
How can companies better support menopausal employees? By building an age-inclusive workplace culture with benefits to match.
What is menopause and how is it treated?
A person enters menopause when they've gone 12 months without a period. But the time leading up to that point—referred to as perimenopause—typically lasts between three and seven years. Without treatment, perimenopause symptoms last about 7 years.
Within this time, your employees will experience fluctuations in their levels of estrogen and progesterone, in addition to a variety of physiological changes. Studies show that 75% of menopausal women will experience some vasomotor symptoms, the most common among them being hot flashes and brain fog.
Treatments can include pharmaceuticals and hormone replacement therapy, as well as homeopathic approaches to lessen the impact of some symptoms.
Unfortunately, in the same way that menopause is so rarely discussed in the workplace, it's still a nascent field of study in the healthcare system. 80% of OB-GYN residents indicate they are “barely comfortable” discussing or treating menopause, meaning that the majority of your employees will likely need to seek out specialty care for their menopausal needs
Understanding the impact of menopause on your employees
Menopause is a time of transition for your employees, but few employers understand the implications. Normalizing and appreciating how your employees are affected by menopause can help limit the impact it has on their wellbeing and productivity.
Vasomotor menopause symptoms
Hot flashes and brain fog, two of the most common symptoms of menopause, can have major impacts on the wellbeing of your employees.
Hot flashes can occur sporadically throughout the day, lasting for three to four minutes at a time, causing unpredictable distress and discomfort. Brain fog, which has a reciprocal relationship with the poor sleep quality that's often associated with menopause, can similarly sap your employees of their energy.
Mental health
Menopausal symptoms put employees at a higher risk of mental illness, for several reasons. On one hand, vasomotor symptoms can impact their quality of life: discomfort, poor sleep, and intimacy struggles can cause stress.
On the other hand, fluctuating hormone levels can also impact and trigger mental illness. Studies show that over a third of women who experience menopausal symptoms also have depression. They also reported significant reductions in their quality of life and productivity at work.
Workplace stigma
The experience of menopause in the workplace can be incredibly isolating: your employees may fear that being open about their symptoms will result in discrimination and stigma, or that being labeled as “old” will have a negative impact on their career.
A recent survey found that one in three women in the UK have taken off from work due to menopause symptoms, but less than a third who called out told anyone at work, and only 11% of them requested “workplace adjustments.”
A defining phase of life
Because menopause is so rarely discussed in the workplace in spite of its prevalence, your employees may often feel alone during this pivotal phase of life. Feelings of loss, shame, and isolation can prompt your employees to make drastic changes in response to their symptoms.
A recent study found that nearly one million women in the U.K. quit their jobs because of menopausal symptoms, indicating the significant role this experience plays in the lives of your employees.
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