Copyright Inc. Magazine
The survey of 900 employed U.S. women, from San Francisco-based resume service LiveCareer found that 97 percent of women who are experiencing menopause symptoms felt pressured to either hide or downplay what they were experiencing, news site Human Resources Director reported. The report says 91 percent of women begin experiencing symptoms before they turn 50, which often coincides with reaching leadership levels in their career progression. In terms of symptoms, 61 percent experience mood swings or anxiety, and 60 percent say they have issues when trying to focus and stay productive. Meanwhile, 51 percent say they go through “brain fog,” and 46 percent say they have sleep-related problems. All of these symptoms may impact women’s day-to-day workplace experience, even affecting their performance and their interactions with colleagues or direct reports. LiveCareer’s report highlights this, noting that this can “erode confidence and concentration,” and the data backs this up, with 69 percent of respondents saying they experience “significant” work performance impacts when they’re suffering symptoms. As to why so many women feel they can’t talk about this in the workplace, 61 percent say the culture “doesn’t support these conversations,” and a depressingly high proportion—61 percent—also say they fear being judged. Thirty-three percent think it’s not relevant to discuss the matter at work, which is their prerogative of course, but a worrying 18 percent say they don’t trust HR—possibly implying they feel the HR department will somehow use this information against them in the future. As the report notes, this experience has bigger implications, including on workers’ mental health, since “a culture of silence and stigma leaves many midlife working women managing serious symptoms without support.” Why should you care about this? You may feel that your open, friendly company culture means yours is an organization where a female employee experiencing menopause feels accepted and supported. But the data show that this might not be true, and that many women may be holding back on talking about their menopause or partly hiding the impact it’s actually having on them. Talking to your staff to make it clear that you will support them through the process may go a long way to boosting the morale of menopausal workers, and it also shows that you’re an inclusive, compassionate leader—characteristics that may help lift workforce morale. The LiveCareer data also shows that nearly one in three women experiencing menopause have thought about changing their jobs or dialing back on working hours. This clearly has implications for their employers, who would have to go through the time-consuming and expensive process of recruiting to replace that role, or at least shuffle resources to cover someone who’s dialing back on hours worked. Lastly, menopause symptoms, and the stress of having to suppress them, can be considered a mental health issue too. In today’s stressful workplaces, creating a company culture where it’s acceptable to talk about mental health matters can be seen as a boon. Dan Simons, co-owner of the Founding Farmers Restaurant Group, a medium-sized D.C.-based company, recently landed his company in the spotlight for the right reasons when he explained that he encouraged workers to talk about mental health. “If you can leave your problems at the door, then I can presume you must be able to leave your left leg at the door,” Simons said, highlighting a certain hypocrisy in some workplace cultures. “I just don’t believe people can truly separate parts of themselves, nor should they, nor is it the most productive way to live,” he said.
