Menopause at work - why is this topic still big news? Guest Article by Cathy Richardson

Are you wondering why, lately, you are seeing a lot more information in your LinkedIn feed, in the news and just about everywhere about menopause?

It’s a topic with staying power, for sure! For several years now, there has been a move toward dealing with this last of workplace taboos, and many organisations have already started addressing it.

But why are menopause and perimenopause still a topic, despite increased awareness?

Menopause has been around for as long as humankind, but the fact is our life expectancy is becoming longer and longer. We are all getting older, and therefore, working for a lot longer. That means more people are working through their menopause transition now than ever before.

The current facts about menopause at work

The average age for menopause in the UK is 51. Considering that our current life expectancy is into the 80s (Many of us will live into our 90s and some will make it even beyond that!), menopause is a true midlife matter. With rising pension ages, a woman who menopause at 51 will still have at least 15 or more years of working life ahead.

Peri-menopause starts (generally) in the early 40s, which means stereotypes will have to shift! The funny image of a sweaty overweight old biddy has been replaced by the fit, empowered images of Davina McCall and Louise Minchin. Menopause is no longer a laughing matter! Nor are women resigned to “put up and shut up” any longer, as our mothers and grandmothers did in years gone by.

The onset of menopause (perimenopause) is complex, and the symptoms include both physical and psychological symptoms. The new social awareness (particularly post-pandemic) of the need to support mental well-being at work has once again brought menopause symptoms to the fore, especially because of the psychological symptoms.

However, in 2022, the Fawcett Society published a damning report, suggesting that urgent change was required. The opinion is that the workplace is still generally failing menopausal people.

The Government Report on Menopause stated that women over 50 are the fastest-growing workplace demographic in the UK. But according to the statistics, and despite the drive to get more representation of women in senior positions, it is a leaking bucket. Out of the about 5.4 million menopausal people in work right now, about 500,000 will leave the workplace because of the impact of their symptoms.

That’s a 10th of the midlife female workforce who will disappear! Simply because they have no support mechanism in place to seek accommodation for the symptoms which they feel too embarrassed or ashamed to talk about, and which affect their work.

It’s a topic that is now being recognised at all levels. Employers are being encouraged to better support women experiencing menopause as the Government appointed England’s first ever Menopause Employment Champion early in 2023. The Health and Safety Executive also released guidance on supporting women in the workplace in July 2023.

The underlying issue – risk to business

Think about the career level of someone at the age of 51 – they may well be in senior positions in organisations. They will most likely hold responsibility, they will probably manage teams and have expertise and experience that will be difficult to duplicate or replace quickly.

The sad fact is that one in 10 women will leave their jobs because of symptoms of perimenopause. There still remains a culture of silence around this topic at work, which means that the actual impact is only now being researched and published as data.

Research by Standard Chartered in 2021 showed that although about 80% of menopausal people are in work, only 22% of women and trans men experiencing menopause would feel comfortable disclosing their status at work.

There is a fear around the stigma that comes with the word “menopause”! Employees fear that their ability will be questioned or their competency doubted, should they reveal the impact of the symptoms on their daily working life. “Menopause” is also naturally associated with being “old” – a concept our glamorised society does not favour.

It’s an indictment that a quarter of employees currently going through menopause said their experience has made them more likely to leave the workforce before retirement.

So this is why, now, we are seeing a real business case developing for urgently addressing this topic at work. And this is a major reason why this topic is not going away.

Can this situation be mitigated?

Well, the obvious way to break a taboo is to talk about it – to educate, and to bring people to a point where the stigma disappears. As soon as we talk about something, it becomes normalised. Eventually, I would love for us to be in a place where discussing menopause at work can become a similar conversation to those we have regarding puberty at school.

The reality is that unless we address this now and fully, the risk to business of losing a massively valuable part of the human resource is real. There is attrition now!

Considering the skills shortage that has assailed the UK workforce for a long time, it makes no sense at all to lose experienced people without trying to mitigate the loss.

There is a lot that can be done about keeping menopausal employees at work, extending their careers and reducing the cost of replacement and training.

Let’s bring the topic of menopause to the top of the agenda. Let’s keep these experienced women and transgender men in the workforce. Let’s listen, communicate, educate and break this final workplace taboo. Let’s put policies in place to support this. Let’s include men in the discussion so that they are informed and empowered to offer kindness and understanding.

Please reach out to me for advice or assistance on how to ensure the retention of your valuable midlife employees.

I am passionate about helping companies to become menopause friendly, based on my own experience of working through a very disruptive early menopause. Please look at my website here: www.cathyrichardson.co.uk or find me on LinkedIn as @cathycoach to open the conversation.

 

Cathy Richardson is a workplace trainer and menopause coach. After a 30 year career in HR and Talent Consultancy, her passion is to bring the topics of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to life at work through frank and open discussion, education and coaching. In particular, mental health and sleep problems are of interest to her, when she supports menopausal women through support groups and her thriving online community at My Magical Menopause. She is also a senior yoga teacher and yoga therapist. In 2018, Cathay was nominated as a Positive Role Model for Age in the National Diversity Awards. Please feel free to reach out to Cathy for an informal chat, using the links provided above.