Menopause@Work Blog

Sharing information & experiences to take the heat out of menopause so today's woman and her workplaces thrive.

A fan is nice, a menopause-aware manager is better.

Jun 30, 2022

Recall a time you were exhausted at work.

Yesterday? Last week? Last month? Every day?

It’s pretty likely you had a poor sleep the night prior. Picture...

It’s now 3pm and you attempt to cover yawns, for a moment, wishing you had a mask on-hand. An awesome co-worker notices, disappears and re-appears with a coffee for you. You didn’t order it but you almost cry with gratitude. You break your ‘no coffee after midday’ rule and make it through the afternoon. Just. You arrive home tired and wired wondering how you will conquer the evening. You finally flop into bed and cannot fall asleep.

Instead, imagine you work for a tech-company adorned with workplace nap pods. Before your late afternoon meeting (yes they are still a thing), you slide into a pod and put on relaxing music. You get a 20-minute nap. Game changer. You are refreshed enough to get through the meeting and day feeling calmer. You move through your evening and fall asleep.

The coffee was not a long-term energy management solution. Sleep helped you recover.

Coffee was nice. sleep mattered most.

Consider menopausal hot flushes.

80% of women experience hot flushes.

"It was like somebody put a furnace in my core and turned it on high, and then everything started melting. And I thought, 'Well, this is crazy. I can't, I can't, I can't do this,” (Michelle Obama)

Michelle was about to address a group and an unwelcome hot flush hit.

What are menopausal hot flushes?

Fluctuating female hormones cause hot flushes which are intrusive and stressful. Most women experience hot flushes, questioning if their internal thermostat is broken. Your body no longer responds to your environment in the expected ways. Flushes can come at random times given the actual temperature of the environment.

Chilly one minute, blazing hot the next

Imagine you feel composed and confident at work when an unwelcome and overwhelming sensation of heat blooms through your body. The extreme heat is accompanied by profuse sweating. You are having a hot flush. Your body is not playing fair and you are halfway through an important meeting?

One woman told us she loves working at home because she can be on a zoom meeting while here desktop fan keeps her cool.

Many work situations make coping with hot flushes harder. From facing new challenges to formal meetings to hot workspaces.

What can we do about hot flushes at work?

Better ventilation, air conditioning and temperature control help women cope with hot flushes at work.

Environmental adjustments help. Hydration helps, wearing natural breathable fibers and layers help too.

Anything that minimises workplace stress makes a big difference.

We can learn from Barack Obama. Michelle said "He didn't fall apart because he found out there were several women on his staff that were going through menopause. It was just sort of like, 'Oh, well, turn the air conditioner on."

Awareness of menopause being a possible health problem is supportive.

Workplace menopause awareness supports health cultural and commercial outcomes.

A woman shared her experience with her menopause-aware manager.

Her manager wore many layers including a jacket when she reached for the AC remote to make the room colder. He wasn’t feeling cold and neither were the other team members.

Rather than making a joke or asking a question, he didn’t miss a beat. He guessed she might be experiencing a hot flush or was not comfortable with the temperature.

He didn’t confuse her hot flushes for incompetence or give her any reason to feel embarrassed or stressed. It was a menopause-friendly workplace moment. She felt supported, reducing stress and pressure. She was fiercely loyal as a direct result.

It starts with manager menopause awareness.

Who is your first point of contact to share concerns with and brainstorm solutions? Your manager.

Who implements workplace practices and provides support to help people do their best work? Your manager.

Menopausal Hot flushes are the tip of the iceberg for women experiencing menopause at work.

Did you know there are over 40 ways menopause affects a woman’s health?

56% of women experience the psychological symptoms of menopause which include anxiety, mood disturbance and depression.

I thought I was having serious heart problems. Turns out heart palpitations may occur with flushes. You might experience a rise in your heartbeat of about 8-16 beats per minute because of changes in blood flow rates during menopause.

Lack of awareness made me feel anxious about hot flushes worsening stress and menopause symptoms.

Understanding workplace adjustments to help women them cope with hot flushes is a great starting point.

When managers become menopause-aware it creates the context for openness and the normalization of conversations. Manager awareness helps women feel safe and supported to do their best work.

Discussing menopause at work is new territory.

As a result, it is avoided or confronted without consideration.

This all changes with awareness. Menopausal women will have hot flushes at work but remember, heat is no proxy for capability or competence. 80% of women do not feel comfortable disclosing their menopause status with their manager.

It is everyone’s right to feel comfortable at work. Don't feel embarrassed to ask for a fan or keep windows open.

A fan is a helpful environmental support but informed managers create open, inclusive and supportive cultures. As a result women stay and the whole workforce benefits. We love educating mangers for this exact reason.

How menopause-aware is your workplace?

“At Future Super we want to normalise the processes women’s bodies go through. That means removing the shame and stigma associated with menstruating and the menopause to support our employees to do their best work” (Leigh Dunlop, chief operating officer at Future Super).

Workplace menopause support is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It starts with seeking to understand how menopause impacts work and life. It starts with connecting the dots on why it makes great business sense to be a supportive compliant workplace.

When is the best time to grow workplace menopause awareness? October during Menopause Awareness Month? Or now?

Now is the time to start from where you are and open dialogue and grow awareness.

If you would like a next step to grow workplace menopause awareness, consider our ‘Menopause at Work’ Awareness Workshop to equip people with menopause facts so they understand the impacts of menopause in the workplace and how to be supportive and compliant. That makes great business sense.

Let’s talk about how we can support you.

Be well.

Author: Melissa MacGowan, Meno Collective

The information in this post is for information purposes only and is not intended to replace or substitute medical advice.

As with any information created for or by Meno Collective & Menopause Experts Group, the information in this post is accurate at the time of posting and is for information purposes only. Information is not intended to replace or substitute the judgment of any medical professional. You should always seek advice from your health care professional regarding a medical condition.

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