Women have long navigated the challenges of health issues in professional settings, often overlooked in workplaces. As women now comprise nearly half of the workforce, there’s a powerful opportunity to reimagine workplace support and understanding.
Menopause is a significant life transition, often leaving women feeling unprepared and uninformed. It’s a life stage that can be more transformative than expected. The majority of women begin this natural process in their mid-40s, with some experiencing it even earlier, including those who have had hysterectomies. This isn’t your grandmother’s experience, though – it’s a modern, dynamic phase of life affecting professional women everywhere.
Forward-thinking employers are recognizing a critical opportunity: a significant portion of their workforce is experiencing or will experience menopause at some point in time. By providing thoughtful support, companies can not only validate their employees’ experiences but also unlock greater workplace productivity and employee engagement.
Menopause is an integral part of a woman’s life journey – it doesn’t pause when she enters the workplace. Here are meaningful ways employers can create a supportive, inclusive environment for women navigating this natural transition.
Accommodate the Urge to Go
Most women experience certain physical symptoms during menopause. Although there are interventions that may ease them, there’s no magic pill to make them disappear. Employers who want to create a supportive environment for their employees should accommodate those symptoms as best they can.
Perimenopausal and menopausal women need easy and open access to bathroom facilities. They may experience abnormal bleeding or “spotting,” that may require a garment change. Moreover, estrogen, the production of which drops sharply during menopause, strengthens the pelvic floor. Without it, bladder control can become a pressing issue.
Estrogen also keeps the urinary tract healthy, which is why some menopausal women suffer from chronic UTIs. Frequent urination is a symptom of UTI. While many women take a UTI supplement to treat this chronic condition, there are still times they may need to quickly run to the bathroom.
The fact is that menstrual periods can cause some of these same symptoms. That means that employers providing women with quick and easy access to bathrooms isn’t just a menopausal thing. It’s something that should be accommodated.
Turn Down the Heat
Hot flashes are real. And for menopausal women who suffer from them, they’re an unwelcome distraction and a productivity squelch. Although employers can’t eliminate them from the workplace, they can lend a helping hand to women dealing with them.
Glands operating with less estrogen send other hormones to the hypothalamus, which controls body temperature. The anatomy of a hot flash is ironic. The brain triggers a hot flash to cool down the body when it perceives a rise in temperature. Essentially, it’s fighting fire with fire.
Employers can turn down the heat for their menopausal employees in a couple of ways. First, they can revise dress codes to allow women to wear layers that can be removed and replaced as necessary. This is particularly important for women required to wear uniforms of some kind.
Second, employers can provide fans or allow women to control the temperature in their workspace. Those employees who are cold can always add more clothing. There’s only so much women experiencing hot flashes can take off in the workplace.
Build in Flexibility
Hot flashes and night sweats are disruptive to many things, including women’s sleep cycles. Those disturbances don’t just affect their productivity and ability to focus on the job. They also increase women’s risk of such chronic conditions as cardiac disease, diabetes, obesity, and depression.
Poor sleep among menopausal women also causes “brain fog,” characterized by problems with focus, concentration, and memory. It makes sense that a mental fog can cause issues with women’s ability to make decisions, meet deadlines, and solve problems. And frustration with this menopausal symptom can lead to irritability, mood swings, anxiety, and depression.
Employers can help support menopausal women by providing flexible scheduling and remote work to help them cope. This can allow them to get the time, space, and rest they need to return to the workplace in a sharper frame of mind.
When women enter perimenopause and menopause, they’re often at the height of their careers. They may be among the best leaders and the most innovative and productive employees on the job. A little flexibility will help keep them that way.
Talk About It
As a natural stage of life affecting nearly half of the workforce, menopause deserves open, thoughtful dialogue. By creating a supportive environment, companies can transform workplace understanding and help women navigate this important life transition with confidence and dignity.
Empowering education is key. Managers and employees benefit from honest, professional conversations about menopause and its symptoms. It’s time to move beyond awkward discomfort and embrace a mature, supportive approach that recognizes the experiences of menopausal women as a normal part of workplace diversity.
Employers can make a meaningful difference by providing comprehensive support resources. By connecting employees with knowledgeable professionals like physicians, therapists, and support groups, companies can help women understand their bodies, manage symptoms effectively, and maintain their professional effectiveness during this important life stage.
A workplace that promotes open conversations about menopause erases the stigma for everyone in it. That will help those experiencing menopause and everyone else who works with women.
Hit Pause
Women can’t control menopause any more than someone can control cancer or some other health condition. But employers can help keep female employees comfortable and productive by taking some steps that will help them. Start by hitting pause on perpetuating the female-issues stigma. Helping the women who work for you is promoting everyone’s success.