Over the past few years, administrators at Nvidia, the global computer graphics company, have heard a new kind of complaint. Some of the female employees were suffering from hot flashes, fatigue and fog, common symptoms of the menopausal transition, as well as regular symptoms. Doctors offered no guidance or relief.
“They came to us and said, ‘Who should we go to?'” said Dennis Rosa, the company’s US medical program director. “They were like, ‘We have fertility support, we have egg freezing, we have surrogacy and adoption.’ What about me?'”
Some women’s health concerns, such as fertility treatments and postpartum depression, are already recognized as issues that employers can address. However, until recently, it was largely taboo to discuss menopausal and peri-menopausal symptoms over the years leading up to the end of a woman’s reproductive years.
That is starting to change. New movement to create ‘menopausal-friendly workplace’ kicks off in UK, menopausal women believed to be fastest growing working demographics.
Currently, over 50 UK organizations are accredited as ‘, including HSBC UK, Unilever UK and football club West Ham United.menopause friendlyis a certification developed by Henpicked: Menopause in the workplaceProfessional training company in the UK. recent polls It is currently estimated that 3 in 10 UK workplaces have some form of menopause policy in place.there is even Award ceremonyheld in London for the most menopause-friendly companies.
The British parliament held multiple hearings Over the past two years, researchers on menopause in the workplace have called for further expansion of such policies, including symptom training, physical considerations such as desk fans and uniform modifications, and more flexible schedules.
The effort is now reaching the United States. New York City Mayor Eric Adams pledged earlier this year to “change the city’s menopause stigma” and to “make a more menopause-friendly workplace for city workers by improving policies and buildings.” bottom.
There are many reasons for shifting.
Including women leaders and celebrities oprah and Michelle Obama — As Oprah puts it, “Big Minto the cultural conversation. Her Gen X, now in her 40s and into her 50s, is more willing to talk about her menopausal experience and seek support than previous generations.
A growing number of women’s health-focused “femtech” companies and other entrepreneurs are seeking revenue opportunities in a variety of sectors. prescribe hormones to sale The theme of menopause energy bar.
And employers are more experienced in offering help, given growing evidence that menopausal symptoms reduce productivity and cause women to leave or consider leaving. are recognizing that it is a way to keep attractive women in the workforce.
Recent British studiesFor example, a third of women between the ages of 50 and 64 reported dealing with moderate to severe difficulties at work because of menopause.a 2021 Survey by Mayo Clinic About 10 percent of women between the ages of 45 and 60 took time off last year because of menopausal symptoms, costing employers about $1.8 billion in estimated losses.
The first step toward a menopause-friendly workplace is to provide education to reduce stigma, said Deborah Garlic, founder of Henpicked. This includes posting information on her website for companies and training employees and managers, regardless of gender.
For example, many believe that peri-menopausal symptoms can begin as early as a woman’s 30s, and that small adjustments like allowing employees to take short breaks when symptoms worsen can help. I don’t even know it works.
She said it also helps to appoint “menopause advocates,” employees who actively talk about menopause and help women get support. The higher the rank of the company, the better. “If the organization shows through senior leadership that this is important and they take it seriously, then everyone has permission to talk about it,” she said.
Workplaces can also provide employees with access to treatment. Some companies have begun signing up to offer virtual appointments with providers trained in menopausal care. Maybin, noonand energetic healtha British company that recently opened an office in Brooklyn.
In the UK, some workplaces even offer desk fans for women. Uniforms can be modified for better ventilation. Women in particularly distressed situations can ask to change shifts or work from home until their symptoms subside.a Checklist Offer other ideas.
“The best employers ask their colleagues, ‘What’s stopping you from being your best at work, and what can we do about it?'” says Garlic. said Mr. “Reasonable adjustments are usually small and short-term.”
I have an estimate 34 Symptoms of the Menopausal Transitionand in many cases the symptoms emerge when women are rising to higher levels in the workplace, adding further challenges to the age and sexism hurdles that already exist in many workplaces.
Partly because of the lack of education about menopause, many women don’t even know that what’s bothering them is related to hormonal changes.
Wendy Sachs, a 52-year-old filmmaker and producer living in New York, remembered losing her train of thought several years ago while working on a TV series. “It was always foggy and I honestly thought I had early dementia,” she said.
She didn’t want to talk about it with her co-workers, many of whom were men. It took a long time before she finally found a women’s health professional (she paid $1,400 out of her own pocket) to prescribe hormone replacement therapy. The acupuncturist also recommended vitamins. “I feel like the fog has cleared,” she said.
Sachs was one of about 80 women who attended a screening of a new documentary about Judy Bloom in late April. Bloom wrote in her 1970 novel Are You God There? “It’s Me, Margaret” broke down barriers with a candid discussion of menstruation, followed by a panel entitled “Menopause Needs Our Margaret.”held at women networking club The event, held in New York City, featured women who made menopause advocacy their cause. Stacey Londonstylists, television personalities, and Tamsen Fadala local newscaster.
Garlick said the situation in the UK in 2016 was much the same as it is in New York today, with women generally reluctant to draw attention to their age and menopausal status.
“Sometimes people say, ‘I don’t know why you’re talking about this,'” she said, recalling particular resistance from women who had risen in male-dominated fields such as the police. “They were worried about how they would be seen.”
between him remarks in januaryAdams recalled that his mother suffered from insomnia due to menopause, which made it difficult for him to work as a cook. He vowed to reform.
But some experts warn that disclosing menopausal symptoms can also be risky, as it can influence assumptions that women become less productive at work as they age. . As a result, it may be better to start slowly by building menopause support into existing workplace resources rather than introducing something entirely new, like a cool room, said Dr. Stephanie Fabion, the center’s medical director. Stated. North American Menopause Society.
“What we need most is to discriminate against women in the workplace for different reasons, or to handicap women in some way by telling them that menopause has something wrong with them and they need to adapt. is,” she said.
Nvidia, which has approximately 13,000 employees in the United States, provided access to Peppy Health to these employees and their partners this year after approximately 12 women sought help seeking symptom relief. started. Rosa said the service, which offers virtual health care via an app, is already bringing benefits to Nvidia’s UK offices.
New York-based global pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb is in the early stages of preparing menopause support for its US-based employees. The company’s UK subsidiary, which enables employees to develop customized symptom management plans, Menopause Friendly Employer Award In 2022.
Carla Dailey, global leader of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Women’s Network, said the company’s first step is to set up a menopause information hub on its intranet. Ultimately, it plans to give U.S. employees the same opportunities as U.K. employees.
“If I were going through menopause in the UK, I would be able to speak honestly with my manager about what I would need if I had a flare-up or needed to take time out for myself.” she said. “There’s nothing like that in America.”
audio creator Tully Abekasis.
