Let’s deep dive into how menopause can impact your employees’ health and happiness, and in turn, affect your business functioning.
First of all, let’s get some stats out there. Women over 50 are the fastest-growing segment of the UK Workforce and are vital for building and maintaining flourishing businesses across the country. Menopause affects this age group the most, and symptoms can severely impact their abilities to work at their best, if at all.
In fact, it’s been reported that 14 million working days are lost each year due to menopause.
With this in mind, it’s essential companies become more aware of menopause and how it affects their staff, in order to provide the right support to promote a happy, effective working environment for the best profitability possible.
A crash course in menopause
Menopause isn’t a disease or illness, it’s a natural part of ageing for women. It is when a woman’s menstrual cycle stops and they can no longer get pregnant. The build-up to this is known as the ‘menopause transition’ which starts between ages 45 and 55. This is when women can experience some unwanted side effects, as the body and hormones begin to change. Some women have no symptoms, some get mild symptoms and some experience severe symptoms which are hard to manage. They include hot flashes, difficulty concentrating, muscle aches and sleep problems.
How can this affect employees at work?
These symptoms can be extremely disruptive for women at work, especially when it comes to brain fog, fatigue and loss of confidence. Many women may struggle to concentrate on their daily tasks, feel less productive, and worse, feel unsupported and misunderstood by their employers. The Fawcett Society reported that one in four women don’t feel supported by their manager and a third hide symptoms out of fear of job loss. It’s clear the attitudes toward women going through menopause in the workplace are severely skewed, causing women to feel shame and fear during an already disruptive and uncomfortable stage in their lives.
How businesses can be affected
Menopause isn’t just a problem for women, it’s a problem for businesses, too. Symptoms have a knock-on effect on productivity and therefore business output. Absenteeism can increase as women struggle to manage their symptoms, and morale can drop if they feel unsupported by their colleagues. All of this can cause essential, skilled employees to leave. This high turnover can cost companies a fortune in talent acquisition, and impact performance through loss of valuable employees.
What you can do
Businesses can benefit greatly from fostering a supportive workplace that understands the menopause transition.
Firstly, by hosting workshops and workplace training sessions about menopause, you can ensure employees going through the menopause transition feel supported. Also, their colleagues and managers will understand their experiences and have the tools and knowledge to make compassionate accommodations.
This is the first step to creating a more inclusive and supportive culture in your business. You will boost morale and reduce absenteeism by making your employees feel seen, heard and understood. This will directly reduce your staff turnover and help you retain essential talent that you need to continue making great work.
A supportive workplace also helps nurture an inclusive and diverse workforce and helps position your business as a company that values employee satisfaction.
With this in mind, opening up your business to greater menopause understanding and support is essential for achieving better financial and cultural goals.
I offer a variety of corporate services, from training workshops, courses and wellbeing days tailored to your business needs. If you’re interested in working alongside me to nurture a more inclusive, diverse and supportive workplace culture, click below to get in touch.