How To Create A Supportive Culture For Employees Experiencing Menopause

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Caitlin Kirwan shares four ways employers can break down barriers and create a culture to support employees during menopause.

Since 1949, May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month by people across the US. The month-long campaign focuses on eradicating stigma, extending support, and fostering public education. So it feels like the perfect time to jump into an important challenge that will impact half of the entire global workforce – menopause.

Over 50% of women experiencing menopause suffer from neuropsychiatric conditions like depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

Menopause is a natural process that happens when a biological woman reaches the end of their menstrual cycle. It’s ‘officially’ diagnosed after a woman goes 12 months without a period, but symptoms can begin in the months or even years leading up to that point. According to the World Health Organization, the hormonal changes associated with menopause can affect physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing.  

Every organization has a responsibility to do everything in its power to create an inclusive and supportive workplace. Which is super important when it comes to employees experiencing menopause, as research shows that workplaces can actually exacerbate the symptoms when the right support isn’t in place.

Menopause and work

The statistics around menopause and work are pretty shocking…

Three in five working women who are experiencing menopause say their symptoms negatively impact them at work, with 65% saying they feel less able to concentrate and 58% feeling more stressed.  

Other symptoms can include disrupted sleep, memory loss, problematic hot flashes, fatigue, and a decrease in confidence.

So it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that almost a quarter of women have seriously considered quitting their jobs due to the symptoms of menopause.

And when you consider that 51 is the average age for women in the US to experience menopause, it means a considerable percentage of your employees who are typically at the peak of their careers could be considering walking out the door any day now. The financial implications are huge, with Bloomberg estimating that global menopause-related productivity losses are over $150 billion every year.  

Despite all of this, it’s reported that the majority of organizations are not even aware of the problem.

By 2025, more than one billion people around the world will be experiencing menopause. So the time is definitely here for employers to focus on creating a truly inclusive culture by increasing the level of support offered.  

Let’s explore how you can do just that. 

How to support employees during menopause symptoms

Supporting employees who are experiencing menopause symptoms is about more than just policies, regulations, and procedures. Don’t get me wrong – they are important – but building a supportive and inclusive environment is much more about culture and ‘workplace norms’ than it is about the formalities.

So here are three actionable things that you can do to support employees struggling with symptoms of menopause.  

1. Educate leaders and managers

Around a third of women who have taken sick leave because of the symptoms of menopause said they felt unable to disclose the ‘real reason’ for their absence due to having an unsupportive manager. And on top of that, we already know that an employee’s direct manager is responsible for 70% of the variance in their level of engagement.

Employees struggling with symptoms of menopause need to feel listened to and understood. They need to be made aware of the supports and benefits available to them, such as free counseling via an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or workplace adjustments that can be offered. They need to be able to discuss practical changes to their working day with somebody who understands the requirements of their role.

And ultimately, all of this support is most meaningful when it comes directly from the employee’s line manager.  

Leaders and managers from across the organization should be provided with comprehensive training that helps them understand the potential work-related implications of menopause and the supports that they can offer to members of their team.

Whether through formal classroom-based training, e-learning or a webinar series, think about the ways in which you can educate people leaders on the following topics:

• The symptoms of menopause and the way they can impact work
• The benefits and supports available, both inside and outside the organization 
• The workplace adjustments that the organization can provide 
• The best ways to establish a psychologically safe environment where their team members feel comfortable discussing challenges

The aim is to upskill your management team to a point where they are able to provide a consistent level of support to direct reports who are experiencing the symptoms of menopause.  

2. Encourage Employee Resource Groups and staff networks

While top-down support is incredibly important for creating a working environment that feels safe and supportive, encouraging and promoting staff networks and employee resource groups (ERGs) is just as critical.

Supporting employees to create and join community spaces within your intranet – such as a dedicated space for women to help each other and share stories relating to work and menopause – is an impactful way to encourage support at a peer level. These networks should be organic and employee-led, and should become safe spaces for providing mutual support.

Establishing more structured ERGs is also a great way to cultivate this kind of open and inclusive community. In addition to providing a supportive environment for employees, ERGs can drive positive change across an organization by exchanging ideas and offering continuous feedback to senior leaders.

Encouraging staff networks and ERGs has numerous knock-on benefits, including:

☑️ Improving work conditions
☑️ Encouraging honesty and trust 
☑️ Driving awareness 
☑️ Identifying and developing leaders within the organization 
☑️ Enhancing the external employer brand

3. Promote flexibility

Last but by no means least, promoting flexibility across your organization is one of the most meaningful ways to support employees experiencing the symptoms of menopause.

Things such as allowing employees to work from home, adjusting working hours or shift patterns and relaxing uniform requirements can make a real difference.

New guidance from the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission highlights the need for employers to embrace flexibility and make workplace adjustments for women experiencing menopause symptoms in order to prevent discrimination.

And the World Economic Forum advises organizations to build an inclusive working culture by promoting flexibility and continuously monitoring and evaluating policies.