Women over the age of 50 are the fastest growing segment of the workforce, and most will go through the menopause transition during their working lives. Whilst most women experience the menopause between the age of 45 and 55, some start experiencing symptoms much earlier. With 75% or more women of menopausal age at work, this is a issue employers need to have awareness of and address. Why?
Some women go through the menopause with little impact on their daily life. But others experience symptoms such as sleeplessness, memory loss, headaches, depression and anxiety that can last for several years. Such symptoms can have a negative impact on their performance and attendance at work.
By supporting women through the menopause, your organisation will benefit from increased engagement and loyalty, as well as lower sickness absence and employee turnover.
Fostering an age- and gender-inclusive workplace will help you tap into the valuable skills and talent that men and women of all ages have to offer.
You have a legal duty to ensure working conditions don’t exacerbate someone's symptoms - and to protect employees from discrimination. Removing barriers to progression for women could help you close your gender pay gap.
What can you do as a business?
Review existing policies and frameworks
Ensure health and well-being, flexible working and performance management are implemented in your workplace. You might want to develop a specific policy on menopause outlining your organisation’s commitment to supporting women through the menopause. Moonstir can support you with this.
Break the stigma
Even just talking about the menopause can make a world of difference to a woman’s ability to achieve her full potential. Promoting awareness, offering opportunities for discussion about the subject of menopause between staff and managers alike will help break this somewhat taboo topic. We at Moonstir have the information ready for you to get the conversations started.
Identify reasonable adjustments
Someone with menopausal symptoms should be supported in the same way as an employee with any ongoing health condition – it really is no different. Look at risks and make a plan to support each individual. Our links with Occupational Health and HSE make Moonstir the ideal organisation to call.
Ensure managers are capable
Educate managers about the menopause, who it can affect, and how they can support colleagues going through it. At Moonstir, our management training in Wellbeing at Work covers menopause awareness. We know that a flexible absence management framework that highlights the menopause as a potential long-term and fluctuating health condition will help managers take the right approach.
Offer individual support plans
Here at Moonstir we are in a unique position to offer health and wellbeing support to individual employees. Whether this be via our nutritional coaching with Laura, psychotherapy with Morag or Jenny or our new combined offering blending nutritional and mental health, we have your employees covered.
Why not drop us a message to arrange a confidential chat at morag@moonstir.co.uk