Menstrual health significantly impacts women, non-binary individuals and transgender men across all generations in the workplace, with 23% of working women contemplating quitting their jobs due to the effects of menopause or menstrual symptoms.
While acknowledging the call for cultural change in workplace attitudes towards menstrual and menopause leave, it’s essential to explore whether flexible work arrangements adequately address the challenges posed by menstrual health issues, or if more is needed to be done.
Fostering a truly inclusive workplace environment is needed to support those experiencing menstrual symptoms
How to provide menstrual and menopause support at work
Remote work is a strong foundational step to giving everyone more control over their lives to balance professional and personal responsibilities.
Organisations may choose to advocate for a deeper, holistic and long-term approach. Fostering a truly inclusive workplace environment is needed to support those experiencing menstrual symptoms.
These are core areas to action:
1. Provide flexible work options for all team members
Facilitating remote or flexible work arrangements rooted in asynchronous working practices is a small step in the right direction.
This provides the flexibility to support individuals experiencing menopausal symptoms or menstrual discomfort.
The ability to work from a comfortable environment rather than an office allows employees to better manage their symptoms with privacy and without fear of judgement or inconvenience.
Spain-based Senior Director Norma Delgado said that she has experienced several challenges around managing menstrual discomfort before benefiting from flexible work: “My menstrual pain can be very strong, but I can take pain relief, rest a bit and be able to continue working. Without a flexible schedule or asynchronous model, I would have to take a day off because I wouldn’t be able to be at the office during these flare-ups. The other challenge is communicating what the issue is. There is a lot of taboo and the level of comfort in discussing menstrual pain is low. Working a flexible schedule, there is no need to explain in detail because the flexibility allows you to naturally schedule your work responsibilities around your life.”
The ability to work from a comfortable environment rather than an office allows employees to better manage their symptoms with privacy
2. Consider offering unlimited ‘no questions asked’ wellness time
Menstrual and menopausal discomfort are valid reasons to take time off or utilise flexible working hours, granting employees the autonomy to work when they feel their best.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone feels comfortable sharing their reasons for absence. Unlimited PTO policies are often underutilised within organisations, meaning it is important for businesses to ensure employees feel psychologically secure to use their leave without fear of retribution or being passed over for opportunities.
Menstrual and menopausal discomfort are valid reasons to take time off
3. Facilitate community spaces for sharing experiences
Creating safe spaces at work promotes open dialogue about menstrual and reproductive health through inclusive communities. Such spaces enable employees to share experiences and support each other.
Discussing the value of unlimited PTO benefits and open communication with her workplace when managing menstrual discomfort, Maryann Thomas said: “Remote has a work culture that doesn’t make me feel restricted or embarrassed about airing my concerns or discussing issues, whether this is with my peers or manager. We have a safe space in our Slack community channe where we can ask questions or have a chat with someone about what we’re going through.”
4. Provide clear policy documentation with inclusive language
All documentation should be accessible, inclusive and sensitive to the needs of all employees. This includes using terminology that respects the diversity of experiences related to reproductive health and avoids stigmatising language.
Improving your documentation means educating and training both managers and HR team members, and fostering an environment where female, transgender, and non-binary employees feel comfortable discussing these issues if the need arises.
Creating safe spaces at work promotes open dialogue about menstrual and reproductive health
5. Provide healthcare and mental health support as an employee benefit
While flexible and remote work options are valuable, they are not sufficient in isolation. Employees are calling for a stronger focus on communication and are eager to see companies introduce more benefits that address menstrual health issues.
Prioritising healthcare and mental wellbeing in employee benefits packages (such as offering free counselling or comprehensive health insurance) demonstrates a company’s commitment to supporting the holistic health of its workforce.
While flexible and remote work options are valuable, they are not sufficient in isolation
6. Evaluate employees based on results not hours or time off
By evaluating employees based on their results rather than solely focusing on the number of hours worked or time off taken, companies create an inclusive environment where all employees feel valued and supported in their organisation.
This approach ensures individuals are judged based on the quality of their work and not unfairly compared to others. This sort of culture is a real demonstration of DE&I efforts that work.
Takeaway points for navigating inclusive menstrual health support
- Provide flexible schedules to help employees manage menstrual symptoms comfortably
- Implement unlimited ‘no questions asked’ wellness time to ensure employees feel psychologically secure in utilising their leave when needed
- Establish safe spaces for employees to share menstrual health experiences, promoting support and solidarity
- Develop clear, inclusive policy documentation using respectful language and educating managers and HR teams for comfortable discussions on reproductive health
- Provide comprehensive healthcare and mental health support as benefits to demonstrate commitment to employees’ holistic wellbeing
- Evaluate employees based on results rather than hours worked or time off taken to create an inclusive environment where all contributions are valued
The culture around menstrual health can always go further to support all employees who menstruate or experience menopause. Through strong communication, core benefits and facilitating flexible working practices, businesses can create a comfortable environment and combat discrimination at work.
