Menopause and Mental Health in the Workplace
Let’s talk about menopause and its impact on women’s mental health at work
A significant portion of the UK workforce, more than 13 million women, are going through menopause.
With the average age of menopause being 51, it often coincides with life’s stressful events - work pressures, financial struggles, relationship breakdowns, or just being active members of the club sandwich generation dealing with teenagers going through their own hormonal challenges, or elderly relatives needing care. Combine all this with physical changes and it can result in an emotional cocktail of overwhelm.
So – why is menopause not more openly discussed at work?
Menopause Workplace Statistics?
A number of studies have identified that menopause significantly impacts mood and mental health, including higher stress levels and depression.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) published a study Impact of Menopausal Symptoms on Work: Findings from Women in the Health and Employment after Fifty (HEAF). Reporting that around “one-third of women had moderate/severe difficulties coping at work because of menopausal symptoms. Risk factors for difficulties coping at work included: financial deprivation, poorer self-rated health, depression, and adverse psychosocial occupational factors but not physical demands.”
Their findings evidence the inequality that impacts working women’s menopause, suggesting that “future workforce policy needs to be focused on supporting women who are doing the poorest paid jobs and have the greatest risk of poor health because of their deprived circumstances.”
In March 2021, Vodafone published research based on a survey of 5,000 people from five countries who’d experienced menopause while at work:
62% said menopause impacted them at work.
33% hid symptoms at work with 50% feeling there’s a stigma around talking about menopause.
43% of women in the UK reported they’ve felt too embarrassed to ask for support in the workplace, rising to 63% of women aged 18-44.
64% of women in the UK agree there should be more workplace support for women going through menopause.
A BBC survey of women between 50-60 found that 70% of women didn’t make their employers aware that they were experiencing symptoms. Almost 50% of respondents said menopause had affected their mental health and 25% reported it made them want to stay at home.
Menopause doesn’t discriminate against age. Women of all ages go into menopause, through medical treatment or surgery, and for 1 in 10,000 under the age of 20, rising to 1 in 100 under the age of 40, early menopause is caused by premature ovarian insufficiency. Whatever the cause, all can potentially lead to mental health concerns.
Given data like this, employers need to ask themselves what support is in place or can be made available, for employees affected by menopause. Behind these statistics are individuals, whose well-being and access to work is being compromised by a lack of awareness or provision surrounding menopause - a natural part of ageing for half the population.
An ageing workforce
It’s anticipated that 1 in 6 of the UK workforce will be a woman over 50 by 2022.
With an ageing workforce, we explore why it’s important for organisations to retain the experience and wealth of knowledge & skills
Increased loyalty to the employer, leading to better retention.
Improved overall well-being.
Fostering an age and gender-inclusive workplace will help to tap into the valuable skills and talent that men & women of all ages have to offer.
Removing barriers to progression can close the gender pay gap.
And benefit in recruitment knowing your employees feel valued and improve staff retention.
By supporting women through menopause, organisations will benefit from increased engagement and loyalty, as well as lower sickness absence and employee turnover.
Normalise menopause & break the stigma
Organisations need to understand the impact menopause has on an individual psychologically and emotionally. It’s not an illness or an exclusive club that women choose to join!
Every woman’s experience is unique to them, they won’t all want to talk about it or look for support but for those that do it should be clearly signposted and easily available.
Menopause & mental health at work?
So some women are fortunate, barely having any symptoms, whilst others experience significant changes. In some cases, menopause and the reduction of oestrogen can severely impact on a woman's mental health or exacerbate a pre-existing mental illness.
Fluctuating hormones (oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone) are the main culprits, along with psychological implications of going through this change – in relation to loss of fertility, identity, a changing body and how they think this is seen through a societal lens.
Psychological Symptoms
The psychological and emotional impacts go unseen and are massively underestimated. Out of sight, perhaps, but some women may actually feel they’re going out of their minds.
From their mid-40s onwards women may begin experiencing some of the following symptoms without recognising they’re hormonally led as they enter perimenopause.
Anxiety and a feeling of being out of control, Small things can be blown out of proportion, leading to panic attacks.
Mood swings, tearfulness and irrational bursts of emotion.
Loss of confidence and low self-esteem affect resilience and self-confidence.
Hormonal Depression - is cyclical, when periods become irregular, so can moods.
Treatment of depression research suggests women who had severe PMS in their younger years or postpartum depression are more susceptible to severe mood swings during perimenopause. Women with a history of clinical depression also seem to be particularly vulnerable to recurrent clinical depression during menopause.
Physical Symptoms
Experiencing physical symptoms for a prolonged time – which is commonly the case – can also have a detrimental impact on women’s emotional well-being. With over 34 symptoms these are some of the chart toppers:
Sleeplessness is often one of the first indicators that women’s hormones are ducking and diving - in a study for the British Association of Women in Policing women reported that the tiredness and insomnia they associated with in the menopausal transition affected their capacity to function normally during work.
Headaches including migraines – Pain and difficulty thinking can interfere with work performance & may lead to increased absence.
Fatigue - not to be confused with tiredness, is a feeling of total physical exhaustion.
Hot flushes – Uncomfortable, unpredictable and unwelcome in the daytime and experienced at night as night sweats, waking women up in the small hours and leaving them struggling to get back to sleep. And when they finally do… the alarm is not a welcome sound!
Heavy and irregular Periods – Flooding and unexpected heavy periods - a common symptom of menopause and can be difficult to manage, and embarrassing as they catch women unaware sending anxiety levels soaring.
Digestive and feeling bloated - can be troublesome when feeling exceedingly uncomfortable, working long hours and missing regular breaks.
Continence – Women’s pelvic floor muscles are challenged in menopause leading to embarrassing leaks.
This snapshot of the physical symptoms that women experience in their day-to-day lives is one that has to be juggled in the workplace, unsurprisingly affecting performance at times. Let’s also not forget the impact on unsuspecting partners, children, friends as well as colleagues… Openly engaging in a conversation will benefit everyone in the long run.
So, why don’t women talk about their menopause experiences in the workplace?
Communication is key!
Yet all too often, lacking. Why?
Just some of the reasons include:
Embarrassment
Lack of awareness about menopause
Relationship with line manager
Need for privacy
Impact on job security or chances of promotion.
How to support menopause in your organisation?
In too many cases women going through menopause are failed by their employers through a lack of education. Support and education about menopause will help the women in the workplace better manage their symptoms at work and in their daily lives. How can menopause in the workplace be better supported?
Education and Understanding
Getting senior leadership to make support for menopause a key part of organisational strategy, driving forward the often small changes that will have a big impact and future-proofing a business. Education for all will drive the agenda, with specialist training for line managers who will be dealing with this workplace concern and for those who will be experiencing it.
Flexibility
One of the keys to providing support for staff who are experiencing emotionally challenging symptoms lies in having a flexible mindset when it comes to both working hours and remote working and being able to apply short-term changes when an employee is in need.
The COVID restrictions have offered many businesses insight into what can be achieved remotely and how that knowledge can inform the approach to employee wellbeing.
This may not be feasible for some businesses because of operational needs, the challenge is to take advantage of existing opportunities, and in find other practical ways to support colleagues both in and out of the workplace.
What can you do to support menopause in the workplace?
In the end, the most important thing any business can do to help colleagues who are experiencing challenges in their physical and/or mental health is to create an environment that’s both safe and inclusive.
By encouraging employees to be honest about their health needs, and reinforcing this through meaningful support, organisations will build a culture of empathy. A benefit for women now and in the future as the last workplace taboo is now being properly discussed, and all women will be better prepared mentally and physically to access help in the workplace if they need it.
PositivePause can help your organisation
PositivePause is committed to offering organisations and female employees menopause support. We work with businesses to help them to understand the implications, offering toolkits to support colleagues and raising awareness for all employees confidently.
Our workshops help to start these vital conversations, from senior leadership levels down, to create a listening culture and empower people to find support whether for themselves, their partner or supporting a colleague.
Our ‘Menopause 101 - Let’s Talk Menopause’ sessions are an hour well spent empowering staff and management and breaking the stigma of menopause!
Get in touch with us at business@positivepause.co.uk if you’d like to learn more about how we can help your organisation, whether it’s line manager training or awareness raising and joining the dots for their teams, we can support your organisation.
May 2021 - Updated 2023
To find out more about this subject, read our Complete Guide to Menopause in the Workplace.
Workplace Citations:
Freeman, E. W. (2002). Treatment of depression associated with the menstrual cycle: premenstrual dysphoria, postpartum depression, and perimenopause. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 4(2), 177-191. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2002.4.2/efreeman