Female Menopause & Fertility Trends

There’s still a lot of work to be done to normalise conversations concerning the menopause and fertility issues. But, from what we’ve seen on the news, recent documentaries, and from talking to businesspeople, awareness of these topics appears to be on the rise.

The menopause and fertility have been taboo subjects for too long and it’s going to take a collective effort to shake off the stigma. The desire to create a diverse workplace coupled with the fact that we’re living and working longer, is an indicator that we can no longer brush these issues under the carpet, expecting individuals to cope with them outside of the workplace. The impact on women, their partners, and their families is too great. These are matters that can’t be left at home.

The more knowledge you have, the better placed you are to empower your employees, to build an inclusive and supportive workplace, and to become an employer of choice.

What we can learn from menopause at work research

Koru Kids commissioned a survey to discover how women experiencing menopausal related symptoms felt about staying on in work. 2000 women from the UK took part in the survey.

• 18% said that they were planning on leaving their job because of their symptoms.

• According to the ONS, there are around 5.87 million women of menopausal or premenopausal age in the country. Based on the survey’s findings, this equates to over a million women looking to quit work due to menopausal symptoms. This is a figure backed up by BUPA.

Research Without Barriers conducted a survey in 2020 looking to identify the reasons why women with menopausal symptoms were leaving their jobs or taking early retirement.

• 42% of women said it was due to pressures put on them.

• 39% did not get the flexibility that they needed to help manage the symptoms.

• 39% said that their managers did not understand what they were going through.

• 7 out of 10 women called in sick due to the symptoms.

• Out of these women, only 30% told their manager of the reason,

• and 73% felt that they could not talk openly about their experiences with any of their colleagues.

• 63% reported a complete lack of policies concerning the menopause.

And the support appears to be lacking for women and their families when it comes to fertility issues too. While many companies have created family friendly policies to better support their employees who are pregnant or have young children, there are few policies to help those going through fertility treatment.

• Research has proven that as many as one in seven couples of working age will struggle with fertility.

• 36% of women going through fertility treatment consider leaving work.

If nothing is done to remove the stigma around the menopause and fertility issues voices will be left unheard, this could result in top talent leaving the workplace. And those that choose to remain in employment may continue to feel as if they are the only one going through it, when in reality that’s not the case.

How to provide better menopause support and create a truly inclusive workplace

The reason why these subjects need addressing is because the symptoms of the menopausal can be debilitating; it effects physical, mental and emotional health. And if nothing is done in the workplace, it will significantly impact financial health too.

I’ve just read an article about a HR professional who was receiving fertility treatment; she’d experienced miscarriages and several failed rounds of IVF. As part of her role, she had to manage maternity and paternity requests. She said that balancing the demands, pressures and emotions relating to fertility treatment almost felt like another full-time job.

• Raise awareness with an open culture. Open up conversations to include everyone, it must be made clear that no-one is expected to suffer in silence. Create safe spaces where individuals can share experiences and offer support to each other. To create an open culture is to create an environment where such issues aren’t concealed but discussed openly. Trust must exist, and there must be easy access to high quality support.

• Educate your workforce. All managers must be informed about the effects of menopause and fertility issues. Obviously, you don’t have to turn them into GPs, they just need to be mindful and have an understanding of the reality. Provide them with the training they need to enable them to talk confidently about these subjects. Running workshops or webinars is another way to reduce the stigma.

• Review your working environments. This is especially important for women going through the menopause. If the environment can’t be cooled or well-ventilated, make sure to offer desktop fans or another alternative to help when a hot flush arrives. It’s also good practice to make sure that there’s cold drinking water available too.

• Flexible working: ask what this should look like. As ever, there’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all solution. You’ll find that women going through the menopause will experience different symptoms, but it is recognised that most will experience disturbed sleep. If this is the case, then maybe you can consider moving the core hours to fit better with when they are more productive. And sickness can be associated with fertility treatment, so it’s always best to keep an open-door policy and be guided by their needs as much as possible.

• Reasonable adjustments. As alluded to in the points above, changes can make a huge difference, even very small ones like a desk fan. To ensure you are doing everything that you can, again, it’s really important that employees are encouraged to approach a manager to talk about their personal experiences and needs.

• Uniforms. If your employees are expected to wear a uniform for work, it will be appreciated by menopausal women if these are made from cooler, natural fabrics and maybe with some stretch too for added comfort.

• Mental health support and Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP). Trying for a baby and going through the menopause pose significant challenges. Women may experience poor sleep and anxiety which will impact their performance at work if not addressed. It’s important that the services that you offer are available outside of working hours and for all employees. Partners and family members may also be experiencing high levels of anxiety too. You could consider introducing apps allowing individuals to connect to dedicated experts anonymously.

• Review your policies. Before you create and communicate your policies that support menopause and fertility issues, speak with members of your workforce. To help you shape the optimum policies, you’ll need to identify the challenges that they face and establish how you can help them to manage these better while at work. Don’t forget to mention where they can get support, both internally and externally.

How we can help you

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues detailed in this blog, get in touch with us today on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.