Menopause

Menopause is a natural part of life and can have a huge impact on our female colleagues. The effect it has at work is increasingly important as our changing workforce means that 1 in 3 of the UK workforce is over 50 and between 75% and 80% of women going through menopause are in work. 

Menopause comes with a variety of symptoms and women experience them to varying degrees. It’s thought that whilst 75% of women will have no to mid symptoms, 25% will experience severe symptoms, which could therefore have an impact for them at work.

Symptoms can be both physical and psychological and include:

• Hot flushes
• Poor concentration
• Headaches
• Panic attacks
• Heavy/light periods
• Anxiety
• Loss of confidence
• Difficulty sleeping

How these impact employees will vary and if you are experiencing them, we encourage you to speak to your GP at first and seek their guidance. The NHS has various support materials online as do the charity Menopause matters www.menopausematters.co.uk. Being open with the director(s) and talking about how the symptoms are impacting you at work and your performance is important as, if the director(s) are aware, they can offer help and support as needed or appropriate. Depending on your symptoms and how they are impacting you, we may need to refer you to Occupational Health to better understand what help and support we can offer, if any.