Driving education and supporting menopause in the workplace

Today, there are four million women aged 45-55 employed in UK workplaces. Women over 50 also represent an increasing proportion of the workforce.

These are all people who have been, or may soon be, affected by menopause. Add onto this the numbers of younger working women who may already be facing menopause or will do in the future, and it’s clear that it’s an issue impacting a significant number of workers.

Despite this, the menopause often goes unspoken. But with so many dealing with it at work, it’s clear that it’s a conversation that needs to be had.

59% of women going through menopause report it having a negative impact on them at work. This may include making them feel less comfortable or preventing them from doing their jobs to the best of their ability.

With World Menopause Awareness Day taking place on 18th October, it’s the perfect time to highlight the support women need. At Infinity Group, we are actively trying to become more menopause friendly as an employer. A huge part of that involves educating our entire workforce and giving those facing the menopause the assistance they need.

Keep reading to find out the challenges our colleagues have faced when going through the menopause at work, what we’re doing to better support them and how your business can improve its menopause policies too.

Why supporting menopause in the workplace matters_

The menopause likely affects a significant percentage of your staff, whether they let you know about it or not.

Unfortunately, it can affect how people feel and perform at work. Common symptoms of menopause include fatigue, mood swings, anxiety, brain fog, soreness and countless other health issues.

Ignoring the problem isn’t a solution. It makes staff feel unsupported when they are going through an already uncertain time in their lives. This may result in them considering leaving their jobs altogether. It can also have knock-on impacts to team productivity if people do not have support to handle their symptoms.

And it’s not just those going through menopause that are affected. People with partners or family members may equally feel distracted at work, especially if they’re struggling to support loved ones.

One of the most significant challenges around the menopause is a lack of awareness. Historically, it has been a taboo subject and, as a result, many women feel blindsided when they begin to go through it. This makes it hard to make the right preparations in the workplace. Seeking medical support can be difficult, with many GPs not fully educated on the subject, which adds to the stress and uncertainty.

On top of this, the people around them don’t know anything about the menopause. They might not understand why someone is forgetful in a meeting or why they don’t feel comfortable coming into the office that day. This makes women feel even more isolated during the process or forced to have uncomfortable conversations.

It’s why we believe employers need to change their culture to allow for open communication about the menopause, allowing people affected to feel more confident and educating everyone to be more understanding.

Stories from our colleagues_

In our efforts to encourage open conversation about the menopause at Infinity Group, we’ve spent time listening to stories from colleagues who have gone through the experience. Here are some of their experiences.

Kelly_

“For the first few years, I found my experience going through the menopause very difficult at work. There wasn’t much awareness at the time. I did consider leaving my job because I was so overwhelmed. My menopause came following a hysterectomy, so I felt like I was thrown into it and I lost a lot of confidence. This was also amidst the coronavirus lockdowns, which added to the situation.

Sometimes I would experience brain fog in meetings, and I feared people would think I was inept, rather than knowing that is a side effect from the menopause. It’s hard to explain why, especially when menopause often seems like such a taboo topic.

I pushed through and I’m glad I did. Awareness has improved in the last few years. I can now talk openly about it, because there is more conversation around menopause in the news, on TV and in the workplace. Being able to find people who had been through it themselves was really helpful, and I’ve even had great support from male colleagues.

I believe any employer needs to have open communication about the menopause, and also offer flexibility. On bad days, it helps to be able to work from home or reschedule meetings. People should feel comfortable in requesting that when they need, and being able to speak honestly about why.”

Louise_

“My menopause began earlier than expected, which made getting treatment hard. I felt like I had to fight my corner to get the right support, even from medical professionals, which was tough.

I definitely experienced the brain fog. Sometimes in meetings, I’ll blank on names or what I was about to say. I also suffered with unexpected changes to my mood, which you end up bringing into the workplace despite your best efforts.

These are common symptoms, but it’s easy to feel judged. So, we need to create an environment where those going through the menopause feel understood.

In the early stages, you don’t always know what’s happening and you can feel like you’re losing your mind. So, employers need to make their staff feel comfortable to talk about how they’re feeling. This can also help other people understand the non-stereotypical symptoms and improve education for men and younger women in the workplace.”

Faye_

“I had a medically induced menopause at 32, following cancer treatment. It meant it was unexpected, so I felt thrust into it without much knowledge of how it would affect me. I had always thought it was just hot flushes and mood swings, so I had to educate myself on the symptoms and treatments.

In my experience, people have very limited knowledge about menopause which makes it hard to talk about or get support. So, I think it’s important that people spend time educating themselves and have those open discussions, whether it’s at home or in the workplace.

To make menopause easier to manage at work, there should be visible education across the business to end the stigma and encourage conversation. Internal support groups would also be ideal, giving people going through the menopause or wishing to support loved ones somewhere to talk.

And finally, temperature controls in offices! Some people will suffer with hot flushes, so there should be somewhere where they can work comfortably.”

What do people going through menopause need at work?

The common themes from our colleagues’ menopause stories are the feelings of not being prepared for the experience, not knowing who to turn to and being unable to share their difficulties.

In order to make women feel more comfortable, it’s crucial that they have people they can speak to. This might include women who have already gone through the process or other supportive colleagues.

Many workplaces have Mental Health First Aiders, but few have a menopause equivalent. Consider appointing menopause ‘champions’ internally, so anyone beginning the process or suffering from the symptoms knows who to turn to.

Internal support groups can also be helpful by giving people a designated space where they can talk about their challenges.

Most crucially, everyone needs to talk about menopause more – including men and women. Menopause is often a silent topic. As a result, sufferers feel unable to discuss their symptoms without being judged, and younger women don’t know what to expect. People may also feel ill-equipped at supporting others going through the process.

By ending the stigma and having open conversations, those going through the menopause feel more comfortable in sharing their struggles, while we can all learn how to better support them.

The Infinity Group approach_

We’re committed to being more menopause positive as an employer. As part of these, we introduced a menopause policy to create an open and honest workplace where employees can discuss menopause-related issues

Employees are encouraged to report any issues related to their physical and psychological symptoms to their manager, who will treat the matter confidentially.

When employees are dealing with symptoms, we also endeavour to be flexible to help them cope. Managers will consider individual situations and make necessary adjustments, such as changing work locations, implementing temperature control, allowing rest breaks, considering flexible working hours and making allowances for sickness absence. These adjustments will be reviewed regularly to ensure their effectiveness.

The aim is allowing people to feel comfortable at work, and never judged if they need some time away.

Beyond our policy, we’re also trying to better educate our employees and encourage conversation about the menopause. This World Menopause Awareness Day, we’re holding a specific webinar to help people understand the symptoms. This is open to all colleagues, so younger women can understand the experience in advance and men know how to help the women around them.

We are also looking to curate a list of resources internally, based on what people found useful during their own experiences. This will help everyone to improve their menopause awareness and get the answers they need.

By introducing more resources and beginning the conversation around menopause, we hope to continue to grow a culture where people feel comfortable talking about their experiences and unafraid to ask for support when they need it.

Find out more about Infinity Group’s values and our commitment to being an ethical, responsible employer.