81 per cent of women say their employer does not provide menopause support

Research commissioned by the wellness platform Gympass shows that women are struggling to work through menopause with empathy and support at the office in short supply.

A staggering 81 per cent of the women aged 45-64 Gympass spoke to say their employer does not provide help and 66 per cent did not feel able to speak to their boss about the challenges they face at work because of their symptoms.

Women make up half the UK’s workforce, with 3.5 million aged 50 to 65 currently in the workplace. Despite the rise in awareness and waves of public support, a stigma remains around menopause in the workplace.

The Gympass survey reveals that 45 per cent of perimenopausal and menopausal employed women aged 45-64 have felt embarrassed by their menopause symptoms at work and a third of women have pretended their symptoms were something else at work to avoid mentioning their menopause by name.

The menopause symptoms most frequently experienced at work are hot flushes, fatigue, brain fog and anxiety. These symptoms in the workplace can seriously impact women’s experience and enjoyment of work. Worryingly, 56 per cent said that stress at work makes menopause symptoms worse, leaving women in a vicious circle.

Almost a fifth of women have left a meeting or another room at work due to their menopause symptoms, and a quarter have taken time off to manage their menopause.

“Our research clearly shows that employers must act quickly to support their colleagues and find ways to help women work through menopause,” says Luke Bullen, CEO at Gympass UK.

“Their effort will definitely pay dividends in terms of retaining the experience and talent of mid-life women with our research showing 90 per cent of women would be ‘more likely’ or ‘a lot more likely’ to join or stay at a company that has a menopause support plan.”

Responding to the research findings, the wellness platform has created a Menopause Hub offering free lifestyle advice and exercise guidance for women in partnership with WILD.ai – an app that specialises in providing programmes in tune with women’s physiology at every stage of their life.

Alongside this, Gympass has also collaborated with Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace to create a free eBook Working Through Menopause to support employers and signpost them to resources, advice and training solutions.

Deborah Garlick, CEO of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, adds that: “These findings are not a surprise to us and reflect previous research.

“We see people every day who are struggling with menopause symptoms and with an increasing focus on menopause generally, more and more people are asking what their employers are doing. Six years ago, a menopause policy was unheard of, so we are seeing progress.

“Thankfully, forward-looking employers already recognise the compelling need and are reaping the benefits,” Garlick continues. “Many have now achieved Menopause Friendly Accreditation, demonstrating they’ve created a workplace where it’s easy to talk about menopause, raised awareness and support and trained their line managers and colleagues. The first UK employers to be accredited were HSBC UK, first direct, M&S Bank, ATOS and Aster Group.“

Luke Bullen suggests that: “Employers can start making improvements straight away through simple changes such as having a quiet breakout room, providing more cool water stations and offering flexible working hours to help colleagues manage their menopause symptoms at work.

“We would also recommend employers organise training for all colleagues about the menopause, nominate and train staff as Menopause Champions to lend support and take steps towards being accredited as a Menopause Friendly business.”

Access the Menopause Hub and download the free Working Through Menopause eBook here.