2 Menopause and work
Research has shown that the menopause has a dramatic effect on people’s working lives, with 60% of those experiencing menopause saying that they have changed their working patterns or reduced their working hours in order to cope with their symptoms, and 30% saying that they could not go into work due to symptoms (CIPD, 2022). With women making up 47% of the UK workforce and 4.3 million women aged 50+ in employment in the UK (CIPD, 2022), it is easy to see the huge potential impact of menopause on the annual economy, as well as to workers’ families and quality of life, as income is reduced or lost.
Given this context, it is encouraging to see that many employers – supported by the work of the trades unions, bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the training provided by forward-thinking communities such as Henpicked, are now developing their own menopause in the workplace policies. In Session 1 Video 2 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] there were some simple steps that could be taken to make menopausal women more comfortable in workplace settings.
Within the context of this course, this section is very short. But this is such an important area, and if you are interested in reading further about menopause and the working environment, check out the website, The menopause at work: a guide.