The 2nd February is Time To Talk Day 2022. It's the United Kingdom's biggest mental health conversation and the day that friends, families, communities and workplaces come together to talk, listen and change lives.

But what if you are a womAn in menopause?

What's the biggest obstacle to achieving your true employment potential if you are a mid-life women in the workplace? Well, it's the menopause and it's one of the biggest conversations, talent and retention challenges that employers and organisations are facing today.

Changing the conversation

Women who have the right tools in menopause can change their outcomes and careers for their own futures and millions of women's futures around the world.

Many women feel unable to talk about their symptoms at work and employers are unsure how to have the conversations necessary. As a society, the subject of menopause is something that has historically been a taboo subject. A personal issue that is dealt with privately.

And while we must always respect the personal nature of menopause, this kind of repression has held women back in their lives. Not just in the workplace, but in access to appropriate healthcare and social situations. The menopausal woman has been reduced to an angry stereotype of hot flashes and mood swings.

Getting to grips

This kind of thinking is damaging and employers need to get to grips with just what it means for employees who are experiencing menopause and how it can potentially affect performance and talent retention. Giving it the same consideration as you would to other mental, physical, health and wellbeing issues is a vital first step.

Research by Women In Hospitality, Travel & Leisure found that 52% of women did not feel that they could talk about their symptoms openly with their manager. More worryingly, 59% said their workplace culture was not supportive of women in menopause. This supports Fiona McKay’s recent findings that the workplace is the last place that women feel safe to share their struggles.

Studies have shown that the negative impact of symptoms can affect engagement, job satisfaction and increase sickness and absence levels.

It is only through understanding menopause, that companies can start to be proactive, change conversations and equip employees and their managers through this stage of change and transition.

The challenges menopause brings

Its an area that is severely overlooked in the workplace for mid-life women and yet menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workforce. According to the World Health Organisation a women spends on average 6 years of her life in menopause and approximately 35% of women suffer menopause symptoms so badly it affects their quality of life in the long term.

In the workplace women often experience greater difficulty addressing symptoms and feel embarrassed and unable to report their menopause status because they fear stigma and professional penalty.

The stats are shocking

In the UK 1 million women could be forced out of their jobs and the workplace because of a lack of menopause support. In a recent survey conducted by Koru Kids said:

63% of workplaces have no menopause policy
24% experiencing menopause are unhappy due to lack of support in the workplace
18% are expecting to leave their employer due to lack of workplace support

New findings

Research has also been conducted by Fiona McKay on gender-biased feedback called 'Why Feedback Holds Women Back.' Her new research shows that you are two times more likely to get feedback based on perceived personality changes over performance if you are a menopausal women in the workplace.

This is having a huge detrimental impact on how women get overlooked for promotion, opportunities and equal pay. It is feeding into the gender pay gap, is contributing to menopausal women leaving the workplace and even driving women's poverty in retirement.

Menopause is part of ESG

And lets not forget that menopause forms part of your ESG strategy too, something which has yet to be fully embraced or understood in most board rooms! It's for Executive Leadership teams to become advocates too, and not just defer menopause as an occupational health or personnel and development problem.

Investors are watching

Investors want to see leadership teams demonstrate behaviours that help all aspects of good D&I in their ESG strategies. And that includes menopause. They want to see not just supportive companies, but are actively investing in those who have defined training, resources, policies and wellbeing solutions that get the workplace more equal and inclusive for all colleagues, customers and the communities that they serve.

What do women need to stop them walking out of the door?

A group of menopausal women in the workplace showing that to ensure organisations retain their most valuable demographic they need to harness feedback to change conversations on women in menopause in the workplace.

The right support that equips them with tools that change conversations and don't detract their career momentum. Women who are in menopause transition should have no reason to stop advancing their careers. And yet, many women still have to suffer silently in their workplaces because there's hardly any evidence based tools, support, solutions and real outcome focused conversations about menopause to help them achieve their full career potential. They need training and development, menopause mentors, equipped line managers able to support through menopausal transition, and leaders who create inclusive and flexible workplaces free of stigma and discrimination.

Workplace support

It is vital for organisations to improve menopausal support and retain the expertise that their menopausal talent pool brings to the workplace. It is also important for employees to know that their employer supports women through times of transition, and helps to develop an attitude that respects their duties and responsibilities.

Employers' responsibilities & employees' rights

Employees experiencing this time of transition with peri-menopausal, menopause and post-menopausal symptoms receive direct protection through employment law and other legislative provisions.

Fundamentally employers must have the implied obligation to protect employees who experience symptoms of menopause, and the Equality Act covers menopause through the protected characteristics of sex, age and disability discrimination. And only last week, there was a landmark Employment Tribunal Case where a boss' menopause jibe ended in a harassment payout.

What immediate action can employers take?

Introduce menopause mentors who are trained advocates, along with supporting and bespoke menopause programmes that includes guidance with trained and certified mentors - advocates who can support, advise, coach and signpost to additional internal and useful external resources. It's also vital that women experiencing menopausal symptoms can seek conversation, community and support and talk openly and confidentially to their mentors.

Create menopause friendly working practices

The key to creating a menopause friendly workplace is understanding it and how women are potentially affected by the symptoms. From there, creating a working environment that can adapt when needed is key. This could include changes to the office environment, flexible working, reasonable adjustment, additional leave and health plan benefits.

The practicalities are important, but they must come from a basis of understanding and empathy.

Menopause training for leaders and managers

Employers are increasingly utilising professional development as they improve management knowledge and implement necessary support structures and effective information signals, especially for line managers. Without proper training, leaders and line managers will create increased cost and risk to the business and increase the risk of harmful discrimination cases and repetitional damage too.

But the reality, its all people leaders and managers need training in menopause, its symptoms and the effects it can have on an individuals lives, work, wellbeing and performance.

Navigating the Menopause Maze ™

Our Managing Director, Fiona McKay knows first hand what happens to high performing professional women in the workplace as they enter menopause.

"Even though it can be a complex and uncertain time for women as they enter menopause, it’s pretty simple what needs to happen. Conversations need to change so that the outcomes for women and their organisations change too. And yet, for most women, the workplace is the last place they feel safe to share their struggles, for fear of personal and professional penalty. This has to change and they need to be equipped with evidence based methods that deliver results.”
Fiona McKay, Managing Director, Lightbulb Leadership Solutions.

Why feedback holds menopausal women back

Image of a menopausal women talking to her line manager discussing performance feedback explaining why feedback should hold no women in menopause back.

Having seen the damaging effects of gender-biased feedback, the avoidance of feedback altogether, and feedback that is based on perceived personality and behaviour changes, Fiona’s new research has shown that this doubles the disadvantage for women to progress in menopause. The dire state of discussions for women as they transition into this stage of life along with the potential for discrimination spurred Fiona on to create the Menopause Maze ™ Programme.

For businesses, its an end to end solution, rooted in the evidence Fiona has revealed from her research on gender-biased feedback, which includes developing workplace women in menopause to have different feedback conversations on their futures, equipping managers to change their conversation styles, structures and approaches, training Menopause Mentors who are advocates, and auditing and providing diagnostics for organisations to become flag bearers of our new Menopause Maze ™ brand standard.

download the menopause maze programme

Conclusion

Fiona McKay’s research is shedding light on an area of menopause bias that has been largely ignored until now. By providing practical tools and solutions to the issue of gender biased feedback, her work is making a real difference in the lives of women in the workplace going through menopause.

The Menopause Maze programme is for organisations serious about providing growth and development opportunities for women going through the menopause, their managers and their leaders, whilst also offering a unique opportunity to invest in the health, wellbeing across your workplace.

This programme is a game changer for both women, managers and leaders alike, and we are excited to see the impact it is having on women and workplaces around the world.

Additional resources

Images of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions' Menopause Maze workplace development and training programme in print on iPhone and iPad.

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