Managing Menopause: Businesses taking action in 2024
The UK today has over five million women at work who are over 501. This reflects both our ageing population and the fact that women are staying in work for longer, working through to the current state pension age at 66 and beyond to continue to build their careers, income and pensions. The average age for menopause is 51, however symptoms can start before then (perimenopause) and persist for many years after. Therefore menopause should be a key area for employers to consider.
Since World Menopause Day was established 15 years ago by the World Health Organisation (WHO), both society and businesses have been on a journey. Traditionally menopause has been a ‘taboo’ topic, but it is now a recognised life transition, the subject of media headlines and an essential in workplace policies and practices. It is recognised to affect both women and some transgender and non-binary people assigned as female at birth.
However, there is still much work to be done. Research has found that some one million women have had to give up work due to menopause, unable to balance their symptoms with their job2. This represents a major loss of talent and experience at a time when employers are struggling to fill their vacancies3.
What can employers do?
Our Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality: Insights Report 2024, identified key measures which have been introduced by leading employers on menopause. Here are our top four:
1. Get talking about menopause.
Breaking the taboo of talking about menopause is not an easy journey. There are however different ways this may be achieved. For example, employers can develop internal awareness campaigns like wellbeing or occupational health initiatives, seminars or signposting employees to relevant online resources. Our leading members also train people to talk about sensitive issues such as menopause and get people from all levels of the organisation to share their personal stories. Appointing menopause champions works well too as they can drive understanding across the workforce of menopause issues and symptoms, and how it can best be managed at work.
2. Think about policies and practices.
BITC’s leading members have menopause policies in place and ensure that these overlap with other policies related to women’s’ hormonal health, menstruation and miscarriage. They know that menopause can also significantly impact mental health and wellbeing. Our Workwell Self-Assessment Tool can help you to evaluate your organisation’s wellbeing journey. Finally, remember that menopause is an intersectional issue, across gender, age, race and health conditions. Leading employers take an intersectional approach such as linking with LGBTQIA+ groups to ensure that understanding and support for menopause is fully inclusive.
3. Embed inclusive flexible working.
This year legislation increased support for flexible working. Leading BITC members have responded by embedding flexible working in their policies and practices, including going beyond the legislative requirements. Flexible working is a vital element of support for those transitioning through menopause, helping them to shape their working patterns and deal with symptoms without affecting their work. Our Inclusive Flexible Working Toolkit explores the opportunities and challenges flexible working can bring and the benefits of flexible working for employers, and shows you how to implement it effectively.
4. Ensure those transitioning through menopause are supported.
Menopause cafes and other support groups provide a safe space for peer support and information sharing. Most BITC members actively supporting menopause have a menopause café. Some BITC members are also offering professional training for their menopause champions to provide confidential one-on-one support, complementing traditional employee assistance programmes.
Our Menopause in the Workplace Toolkit explores further how to support those going through menopause in your workplace, and you can read more about the action BITC members are taking on menopause in our Best Practice Case Studies booklet.
How BITC can support your business
At BITC, we work with our members to offer resources and expert guidance to help them support employees navigating the menopause transition at work. Additionally, our industry-leading Advisory Services can provide bespoke support to help you manage employees going through menopause within your organisation.
Members can reach out to their dedicated Relationship Manager for more information. If you’re not yet a BITC member, you can learn more on how we can support your workplace.
FAIRER, GREENER, TOGETHER
WHAT IF NO ONE WAS LEFT BEHIND?
References
1 ONS (2024) Labour market overview, UK: September 2024 Labour market overview, UK – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
2 HR Review (2021) ‘Almost a million women have left the workplace due to menopausal symptoms’ https://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/almost-a-million-women-have-left-the-workplace-due-to-menopausal-symptoms/135691.
3 CIPD (2024) ‘Labour Market Outlook’ Labour Market Outlook | CIPD.
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