Hot flushes are just one of 34 potential menopause symptoms which can make work life uncomfortable.(ABC North Coast: Elloise Farrow-Smith)
Australian workplaces could be losing women at the peak of their careers due to a lack of policyon menopause and its effects.
While research in Australia is limited, the condition is conservatively estimated to cost organisations about $5 billion annually.
Wednesday was World Menopause Day and this year women, politicians and researchers are calling for major workplace changes and for companies to embrace menopause policies.
Ethical superannuation fund, Future Super, is leading change in Australia with its menopause and menstrual employee policy.
Future Super's Khi Prasser saysemployers need to ask themselves,are their policies reallyinclusive?(Supplied: Future Super)
We think that periodand menopause is not an illness, we think it's a fact, Khi Prasser said.
The Future Super human resources policy advisorsaid the changes implemented in 2020 had created a positive work culture within the company.
Walls didn't come down, only about 26 days in total have been used by the team and of course, engagement, loyalty, motivation and the commitment that people feel towards Future Super has been priceless.
Future Super wants other companies tosteal itspolicy.
We try to make our policies open source because we want other employers to steal them and to implement them inbusiness, that'show meaningful change can happen,Ms Prasser said.
The policy allows for an additional sixdays a year for menopause or menstrual leave and is open to all employees.
Ms Prasser is part of a generational movement thatwants to create a work environment where she and other women can thrive and progress, no matter what their age.
Insomnia is one of the main concerns of menopause.(ABC News: Elloise Farrow-Smith)
It's not just the case of one or two people going through these symptoms, it's 50 per centof the population, go through menstruation and menopause, she said.
By not implementing any policies to support those employees, you have to look at yourself and ask, are you really an inclusive employer?
Australia's first menopause study
Inafirst for the nation, a survey lookedat Australian women'sunique experience of menopause.
The study by the Jean Hailes for Women's Health organisation, together with Monash University, questioned 3,500 women across diverse racial and economic backgrounds.
Co-authorSarah White said of the women aged 45 to 64 years,two-thirds said they had had bothersomesymptoms in the past five years.
We looked then at people who had a substantial impact on their life from those symptoms, Dr White said.
One in five said they found it hard to work or study.
Sevenper cent of that group said they had actually missed days off work or study.
Of the women surveyed in the mid-range age group, 17 per cent said they had taken an extended break from work.
Some women said they stopped work earlier than expected due to sickness or disability.(ABC North Coast: Elloise Farrow-Smith)
Amongthe report's recommendations isa warning for those out to profit from menopause.
We caution all parties to avoid 'catastrophising' menopause in the framing of public discussions, and particularly in the advertising of goods and services, Dr White said.
It could have the unintended consequences of eroding women's resilience and stigmatising women as they approach midlife.
Costing business and the economy
If you are not a woman going through menopause, why should you care?
Rebecca Mitchell, from Macquarie University's Health & Wellbeing Research Unit in the School of Business, one of the care factors for governments and business alike is because menopause costs the economy money.
We are trying to say very loudly, it is huge, it is an enormous cost, Professor Mitchell said.
Her team studied the costs to business in Australia when women leave during their menopausal transition.
We just looked at turnover costs. The costs of replacing women who leave organisations and [we]used conservative figures, Professor Mitchell said.
If 10 per centof women exit the workforce due to menopause, it's costing organisations about $5 billion.
Professor Mitchell said there were big gaps in the research around women at this time in their careers.
The gaps in our knowledge are substantial. There's a lot of transition around this stage of career that has nothing to do with menopause. We don't know enough about why people give up their leadership aspirations, move to part-time employment, or are demoted, she said.
Menopause has long been a subject nobody talks about. We want to open that dialogue.
ProfessorMitchell said on average it tookseven years for women to go through perimenopause andmenopause.
This is something that needs a well-thought-out, long-term plan, she said.
[There is] little guidance for HR professional in supporting women through this stage of their reproductive lives.
What is a menopause policy?
Three years ago, UK media organisation Channel 4 brought in amenopause policyafter crunching its own figures, finding as many as one in four women were considering leaving due to menopause, and 5 per cent were leaving.
Pamela Bird, who co-chairs Channel 4's gender equality employee network, said menopause was costing the company.
Women tend to enter perimenopause in their 40s, when many are at full tilt in their careers and operating at a relatively senior level, she said.
We did not want to lose this valuable talent and also risk widening our gender pay gap.
Professor Mitchell said for this reason many women thoughttheir menopause was something else and often retired early.
Women in Australiatend to retire at about 52 and that is interesting because women plan to retire at 59, Professor Mitchell said.
And when they gave the reason for retiring, 45 per cent of them said that it was because of their own sickness, or disability.
When you look at women who are past that menopausal age, closer to 60 years, that percentage drops from 45 right down to 24 per cent.
There's a real crisis there in that 45- to 55-year-old bracket [which we]interpreted as menopause.
DrWhite believes a menopause policy might have unintended consequences.
I worry that there will be some employers or co-workers who use that to discriminate against older women in the workplace, she said.
Dr White would like to see a broader reproductive health policy within workplaces that encompasses menstrual issues, endometriosis, and menopause.
Some small workplace adjustments, some understanding from employers and co-workers will be all that is needed to keep that woman, not just in work, but also progressing up the career ladder, she said.
Is it menopause?
There are at least 34 medically documented symptoms of menopause, so it is no wonder there is confusion.
Women's health practitionerJane Reffell believes it is crucial for women to get treated properly for the medical condition and to understand the transition process.
Menopause is seen as doom and gloom but it should not, and it can be treated effectively, Dr Reffell said.
She said menopause neededto be normalised in society and she thinks it could be a good idea to introduce the topicinto high schools as part of sex education.
I see menopause as puberty backwards, DrReffell said.
It is a conversation starter between teenagers and parents during those informative years.
Jane Reffell wants menopause to no longer be taboo, especially in the workplace.(ABC North Coast: Donna Harper)
Australia's menopause plan
New South Wales MP Tamara Smith wants to see women's health policies introduced to protect women from discrimination in the workplace.
Ms Smith said women needed to speak up in the workplace and not wait for government.
Women tend to whisper about the transition, but as we get older, we become more powerful and direct, so we need to talk more loudly, she said.
I know my daughter's generation will not tolerate discrimination in the workplace, and I look forward to the day where we will be talking about how work sites are truly friendly for women of any age.
Ms Smith believes discrimination against women during menopause is rife.
I remember one of my work colleagues experiencing hot flushes and she was ridiculed by other staff for taking a small fan with her into the classrooms, Ms Smith said.
All she was doing was looking after herself, but she was made to feel ashamed and embarrassed.
As MsSmith found out when she entered New South Wales Parliament, no-one wants to be that angry menopausal woman.
I have never, in nine years in office, heard anyone describe a male colleague as angry, it is always a woman, she said.
The Greens MP saidshe witnessedentrenched misogyny towards women in politics daily.
Things said include, Oh, she is so angry et cetera because she is menopausal or has her periods.
''I am not saying that you must be hormonal to be angry, [but]being called angry as a woman in politics seems to me to be a code for a raft of misogynistic attitudes, Ms Smith said.
Tamara Smith believes Australia still has a misogynistic culture.(Supplied: Tamara Smith)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-18/menopause-womens-health-policy-in-workplaces/102976708
