It’s 2015 and his partner is returning to work after having a baby. His company offers paid parental leave for men and women. A prized policy and a progressive company. He meets his manager to discuss his upcoming leave. He’s considered how to make it seamless for the business.  

Denied. He doesn’t have his manager's support.  

Turns out it’s a policy, not a reality. Apparently, there’s too much going on.  

His family plans are shot. He returns calls from recruiters. Within 8 months he is gone.  

Policies don’t retain talent, managers do.  

If you manage people, be familiar with your company policies and know you matter more than those policies.  

Good employees leave bad managers.  

82% of people would potentially quit their job due to a bad manager. 

Menopause raises the stakes.  

Research shows fear of age-based discrimination, lack of awareness and support make women afraid to speak with their manager (& colleagues). After working hard to get where they are, they fear being labelled as “old”, “not coping” or both.  

It’s worse for women in male dominated areas or senior leadership roles.  

When you are not sleeping, you’re sweating through meetings, forgetting stuff and heavy with self-doubt work is hard. Menopause makes work tough.  

That was my experience.  

It is another day in the perimenopause abyss. I am beyond exhausted. I can barely string thoughts or words together. I haven’t slept well for 2 years. Usually, I push through. Today, I take a sick day. I pull out of an important meeting due to my “back injury”.  

My back injury is legit and it’s not my whole story.

The whole thing is stressful. I rest in bed. With my laptop. It’s preferrable to tell the truth. I go on to tell my manager I am struggling with a range of menopause symptoms. With support, I shift to a 4-day week, adjust my travel schedule and commandeer the AC remote.  

Covering symptoms causes more stress and worsens symptoms. Dizziness was another symptom (lesser known) that I experienced. One day I am presenting to a large group and boom - there it is. I exit stage left and lie down. Hormones are no proxy for competence.

Peri & Meno are coming out.  

It doesn’t have to be that hard. Go back to work and see if there is any menopause awareness training in place for women, managers and colleagues.  

Don’t try and figure this out on your own. 

Managers are go-to people. They are people who need support too.  

Managers impact engagement and performance every day.  

• Who is your first point of contact to discuss concerns at work?  
• Who implements workplace changes and support?  
• Who stays in touch with you during work absences and supports return to work?  

30% of women take sick leave due to menopause symptoms.  

They feel unable to tell their manager why. Further adding to the mental load, increasing stress, eroding health and confidence.   

The global population of menopausal and postmenopausal women is projected to grow by 47 million women a year, to 1.2 billion by 2030. 

It pays to be proactive.  

Sarah is a fabulous senior leader. A strategic marketing whiz known for delivering. It’s September and she is struggling. She can see December and a holiday on the horizon.  

Her energy is in the floor.   

A big product launch looms. She can’t make it to December. She prepares a business case to go part-time so she can stay in her job and improve her health. She tells her boss she is experiencing menopause symptoms and needs a plan.  

Blank looks. No consideration, just a no.  

She quits. Her career takes a hit and so does the company’s talent pipeline not to mention the product launch. Workplaces have a duty of care for employee wellbeing. Menopause education helps women, managers and colleagues navigate menopause in the workplace in a safe and supportive way.  

Assume the women in your workplace over the age of 40 are in perimenopause. Understand 80% experience symptoms. Invest in your managers.   

Make it easier for women to look after themselves and stay.   

Meno-bias is real.  

Recent research shows women in their menopause transition experience loss of confidence and emotional stability compared to non-menopausal women.  

Did you know confidence and emotional stability are two key traits associated with leadership?  

Overcome bias with education.  

How women talk about menopause impacts perceptions of their confidence and stability.  

When a woman has a hot flush in a meeting and mentions “menopause” in a matter-of-fact way she is perceived as more confident and stable compared to a woman who says she is “just warm”.

She is more leader-like.  

Education is the most effective strategy that employers can implement.  

As such, to overcome bias against people experiencing menopause, it will be critical to build workplace cultures that encourage talking about it openly.  

In the beginning there was awareness  

Discussing menopause at work is new territory for managers. It’s not shock it is avoided or confronted without consideration.  

That changes with education and support.  

Become a meno-friendly manager one conversation at a time.  

Why have a menopause policy?  

In Australia there is a small movement of firms offering paid menstrual leave and, in some cases, menopause leave.  

Once company I am familiar with recognised menopause can be an issue in the workplace and women need support. They developed a policy to support and inform employees.  

Many companies in the UK have implemented menopause polices

It’s not one size fits all.  

Marian Baird, Professor of Gender and Employment Relations in Australia says flexible policy options are essential. She wonders if highly gendered policies cold unintentionally take outcomes for working women backwards not forwards.  

Menopause is all our business. 

It’s not up to the people experiencing menopause to educate everyone.  

What’s your next step? 

✔️Be proactive. Talk openly and learn about menopause at work. 

❌ Remain silent. Collude in sustaining stigma, shame and bias whilst loosing talent. 

You don’t need figure it out alone. 

Menopause is a workplace issue that is not talked about yet can no longer be ignored. We provide workshops and e-learning to:  

• Help people understand menopause and how it affects people at work.  
• Increase awareness and develop language to discuss menopause at work. 
• Educate employees on how to manage menopause and thrive at work. 
• Empower colleagues and leaders with knowledge to be allies.
• Promote an inclusive workplace to retain diverse talent, reduce stigma and employment risks.

Sound interesting? Mail us - we'd love to chat.

Melissa & Team Meno