Member Article

Today is World Menopause Day! Whilst it may feel like ‘just another day’, it is an important day for raising awareness of something that has, historically, not been on most people’s radars (other than those going thought it, of course).

Whilst businesses are becoming aware that this is an area which needs attention, workplace support for those going through the menopause still needs to be moved significantly up the agenda and not just be the subject of a policy banished to the corner of the employee intranet.

So, why do businesses need to make changes and how can HR professionals get buy-in from their boards?

1. The menopause can affect an employee’s everyday performance in their job. A survey carried out by the Fawcett Society and Channel 4 states that 44% of women have reported that menopause symptoms have impacted their ability to do their job. If your employees are less productive, they’re less profitable.
2. The same survey also reports that 1 in 10 women have left their job because of the menopause. If a business has an employee who they trust in a role, it begs the question as to why they would want to lose that person and incur the time and cost of recruiting a replacement, when offering appropriate workplace support may make all the difference.
3. In the current climate of deregulation for businesses, we can’t see that legislative change is on the horizon to require businesses to do more. That said, the number of employment tribunal cases featuring the menopause are increasing year on year and it’s quite clear that menopausal symptoms can be a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

These figures are high already but, if nothing changes, they are only going to increase. There has been a generational shift such that it is the norm for women to be in work and for longer. If there are more women in work; there will be more women in work between the ages of 45 and 55 and therefore more women at work experiencing menopausal symptoms. Businesses which don’t have the appropriate support in place will leave themselves open to greater risk; not necessarily of legal claims (although that could be a consequence) but on a much more day to day basis through disruption to their operations as a result of impacted performance; absence and poor engagement. Taking action is the right thing to do both for women and for business!

 

 

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