Blog

Menopause at workplace

Introduction: What the numbers say…

According to the National Statistical Office’s Elderly in India 2021 report, there will be 101 million women over the age of 60 in India by 2031. Despite living longer than other women, Indian women don’t necessarily have healthier lives. (Source: World Health Statistics report, 2021)

What is Menopause?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), menopause is a time when the menstrual cycle has been uninterrupted for more than a year and estrogen and progesterone levels in women’s bodies have decreased. Both short-term and long-term consequences are brought on by the decline in estrogen and progesterone levels.

The short-term impacts include hot flashes, irritability, sadness, and mood swings, while the long-term repercussions include Alzheimer’s disease, lower-back aches, cardiovascular difficulties, joint pain, brittle bones, and osteoporosis. Both short-term and long-term effects damage the quality of life of the female population and lead to increased demand for health care. (Source: [Green and Cook 1980, Holte and Mikkelsen 1982, Matthews et al 1990])

Menopause and Quality of Life

Typically, menopause lasts 7 to 14 years. Women begin experiencing pre-menopause around the age of 43, and menopause occurs between the ages of 47 and 48. This means that a huge percentage of postmenopausal women take on leadership posts despite suffering from depression, anxiety, and other debilitating symptoms. Managing both their career and personal lives becomes quite challenging for them at this period. There is no universal set of symptoms that all women experience. (Source: Menopause at workplace: Break the silence, provide support, Economic Times, India Times March 2022)

According to one research by CIPD and Bupa, many menopausal women who continued working had to take an average of 32 weeks off over their careers to help manage these symptoms.

According to another research by Mint, only 60% of women had returned to their jobs, compared to 90% of men who did so before the outbreak.

Menopause at workplace

“Menopause is a health issue that can impair not just the productivity and performance of women, trans and non-binary colleagues between the ages of 45 and 55 years, but it also occurs at a critical career stage where many find themselves in leadership roles and many may find themselves opting out of the workforce because they find adapting to strict work requirements together with the side effects too tough,” explains Paromita Deb Areng, CHRO, Zaggle. This, together with the low representation of female, transgender, and non-binary coworkers in the C-Suites, creates a problem at work since it affects workplace equality and inclusion more broadly.

Menopause is not just a personal struggle, but also a professional one, as Emma points out. More than half of the population will most certainly experience menopause at workplace throughout their career, with many lowering their hours, declining promotions, or quitting completely when symptoms become incapacitating. These are people whose skills businesses have invested in for years but risk losing at the top of their abilities.

In order to ensure that women continue to thrive during this vital stage of their lives and careers, it is crucial to include menopause-specific policies in organisations’ inclusion initiatives, from mental health assistance to flexible working to specific medical treatment.

The personal struggle of Menopause

“The topic is widely regarded as taboo and occasionally amusing because of the widespread ignorance and chaos around it. When one happens to find themselves unable to recall simple conversations or even the names of work colleagues, it is common to laugh it off and come up with excuses of forgetfulness to avoid scrutiny. This can occasionally be due to brain fog, and one would rather just sweat in shame rather than ask for the AC to be turned up because the rest of your colleagues are not feeling as hot as you are “, says Areng.

“This transition period can last for years (7–10 years!) with some experiencing mild to severe symptoms such as hot flashes, depression and anxiety, brain fog, weight gain, temperamental moods, and low energy (to name a few). This leads to additional stress and burnout as there aren’t enough resources to support the transition, which is alarming because more and more women are becoming premenopausal between the ages of 35 and 40 due to stress and lifestyle disorders. Unfortunately, a lot of people endure their suffering in silence and avoid discussing their difficulties in public. They worry it will affect their jobs at work and their capacity to work, in addition to being embarrassed about the transition and managing the side effects on a daily basis ” said she.

Menopause medicine

Medcell Pharma introduces RHUBY 731 – ensures smooth journey during menopausal phase. RHUBY 731 is clinically proven in the management of perimenopause, post menopause and surgical menopause. Medcell Pharma’s RHUBY 731 is approved as a FSMP (Food for Special Medical Purpose) in India, and is available all over the country through  TATA 1mg online pharmacy.

RHUBY 731 – Menopause medicine for menopause treatment. perimenopause treatment & post menopause treatment

The star ingredient in RHUBY 731 is Rhapnotic Rhubarb Extract (As  ERr731®) – The most extensively studied phytoestrogen. While Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is the most common treatment for menopause, 80% of women discontinue HRT within the first 3 months due to unpleasant side effects. Choose RHUBY 731 for better management of menopausal symptoms without the challenges of HRT. RHUBY 731 is a nutraceutical for women wellness, and helps in 68% reduction of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes (65% reduction), sleep problems (58% reduction), irritability (60% reduction) and joint/muscular discomfort (61% reduction).

The lack of support from employers

In a study of 2,000 women experiencing menopause symptoms, 63% stated their employer lacked a policy. The women indicated that menopause had had the second-most damaging effect on their careers, only after having children. It was discovered that a quarter of the women polled (24%) are dissatisfied with their jobs due to a lack of assistance, with 63% stating that their workplace has not implemented any type of policy to make things easier for women going through menopause.

“Because of my condition, going to work without any help is like agony,” she explained. “My joints hurt so much that I can’t move.” I can’t hold two things in my head at once, and my anxiety is so intense that it keeps me up at night.

Eva will need to start working again soon in order to keep her income from being cut in half. Although she had always enjoyed her career, she admitted that the notion of going back was dreadful. “I also pay the mortgage on our house and can’t see how my family can live if my salary is reduced,” she explained. “But I’m frightened of going back. “My managers are empathetic, but they don’t provide any actual assistance.”

Over the past seven years, Gillian Archibald has quit three jobs in an effort to seek employers that will encourage her in managing her symptoms at work. In her words, “I don’t think employers have any idea how tragic and demoralizing it is for women who have worked their entire lives and want to continue working but feel a shell of their former selves and not receive any significant assistance to remain working.”

Changes A Woman Leader Can Bring About

As a woman leader today, Areng of Zaggle says, “I speak openly about my perimenopause at workplace (at 41!) because only when I speak up, will this taboo topic lose its influence and we can start making our workplaces more sensitive towards this health concern.

We must urge more female, transgender, and non-binary colleagues to open up to their manager in an effort, to begin, understanding coworkers and ask for their support during the transition. Conversations about what to expect and what can be done often aid in the formation of a support group around the person.”

“As organisations continue their efforts to destigmatize mental health, it is equally crucial to sensitive the workforce on the prevalent symptoms encountered by premenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women and transgenders”, adds Raje of Scaler.

Conclusion

“First and foremost, the stigma surrounding menopause must be addressed, and healthy menopause at workplace dialogues should be promoted.” Menopause has been linked to a variety of mental health difficulties among menstrual employees. In order to address this, organisations must offer sufficient healthcare support in the form of therapy sessions and health consultations with subject-matter specialists, while also providing the employee with sufficient leave time as needed. It is critical for organisations to reassure employees that their health and wellness issues are a priority and that the organisation’s policies are in line with it.