'Menopause awareness' in the workplace?

[WinterDeWinter]

Hello - I'd really like to see what people thought of this. I'm in a medium-sized third sector organisation and I've been asked to oversee a project to increase 'menopause support and awareness' beginning with a consultation. I'm feeling a bit stumped/resistant and I'm not quite sure why.

If I'm honest I'm not completely convinced that this will be more than a box-ticking / PR exercise, and I'm really unwilling to be the box ticker!

I also worry that it could backfire and that while the (higher than usual number of) 40s/50s women in the organisation would appreciate meaningful accommodations, not all will appreciate the spotlight being on them and some might even find it actively intrusive and unpleasant.

For example, we also employ a higher than average number of young-ish men - would the 'awareness training' be compulsory for all the young men and if so how would it feel to be a menopausal woman in the room?!

I am probably overthinking but I thought I would ask if anyone had experience of anything menopause-related in the workplace and if so, what has worked/not worked? If not, what measures would you want me to make sure went out for consultation if I was your colleague? How would you want this to be approached? It feels fraught with danger!

The pubic organisation I work for does this, it's a compulsory part of line manager training, and tte awareness tracing is available to all.

I'm 51. I see no problem in awareness raising around why women in a particular age group may sometimes not always be on top form, and interbred possible to support them.

I work in private sector and its part of our wellbeing strategy initiatives
We have trained support ambassadors in place and a core team from our wellbeing group raising awareness of how women can impacted in the workplace by it. We have highlighted it as a source of reasonable adjustments where someone is struggling at work with brainfog or physical symptoms.
Maybe look at some consultancy websites for inspiration i cant remember the name of the one who keeps trying to engage with us hen something

For it not to be abox ticking exercise there needs to be some investment in meaningful time and maybe even financially if the powers that be dont follow through with that youll know how serious they are

Targeting line managers is key. Training doesn't have to be compulsory for everyone but every manager should be aware of what reasonable adjustments may be requested and what can be accommodated in your workplace. Women should know managers are aware and feel comfortable approaching them.

Thanks @IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads, I can see it would be very helpful to know that your line manager understood what we might be experiencing. Was that training in person/online/outsourced to a training org? And do menopausal women get any specific support / accommodation in your org or has it just been a question of making managers more aware of the realities?

It gets on my nerves. I'm a mid50s woman, btw, but peri seems to be letting me off (never happened). I am relieved to have no exposure to MA activities at work (beyond seeing an advert the event was happening in newsletter). I would be surly if I had to attend something compulsory. We have a lot of mandatory training already, I'd lose my rag if this was added. I don't mind if others want such events and think they could be supportive, just don't force me to participate or assume it's relevant to me.

I suspect your best strategy is to consult your employees if they would like a programme, and what topics they would like covered, and how to make the event 'friendly and attractive' to participate, not a box-ticking chore. Maybe an anonymous survey where people can be asked if they think there are any specific challenges they encounter or affects how they need to work, is one way to get candid comments.

I would go fucking ballistic if this happened in my workplace tbh. It’s not the place of the employer to stick their oar in about this kind of thing. It’s none of their business.
I would absolutely die of embarrassment to be chatting about the menopause in front of a load of men especially young men.
It’s intrusive and offensive and it’s inherently sexist. They don’t want to raise awareness about prostate cancer as well do they. I cannot believe women fought so long and hard for equality in the workplace for this sort of bs to be seen as acceptable.

Maybe one thing that should be included is the notion that not all menopausal women are perpetually rushing off to change their incontinence pants. Despite the best efforts of the Tena adverts, we're not all like that, thanks very much.

And another thing - we get pissed off easily and no longer tolerate bullshit.

Oh yes, and another thing. Give the menopausal woman the controls to the aircon unit, and let them move desks to wherever they feel most comfortable. Nobody else wants a freezing draught down their neck when the person who is having a hot flush sits six desks away and can't feel the cold air at all.

I’d be very much against this as well. In my view this is a private matter. My menopause is nobody else’s business. If I was forced to take part in ‘awareness training’ I’d be mightily pissed off.

My way of dealing with problems is just to get on with it. It’s not for everyone, and if some women want to raise awareness of their menopause, fair enough, but don’t make it compulsory.

I think it’s a snowflake idea. It’s my employer’s duty to pay me for the work I do, not to discuss my menopause. Or my mental health. Or my childcare arrangements. Don’t get me started.

Personally I don't like it, it feels like we spent years trying to dispel the myth that women can't perform when they have their period only to replace that with the myth that women in their 40s and 50s can't do their jobs properly anymore thanks to the menopause. I'm not sure it's all that helpful.

@LadybirdsAreNeverHappy that's really interesting that you feel so strongly that it's sexist. My organisation wants to 'take the stigma out of menopause', so both trying to normalise it and make acccommodations for women who are experiencing it. The perception is that the fact that it is currently not factored in to management training for example is inherently sexist, but it sounds like you feel quite differently. Is it just the idea of having to be present during, say, a presentation or would any mention of it at all in your organisation feel wrong?

It’s tricky as this can be a great time for women in the workplace too - kids grown up, no childcare issues, loads of time and experience etc

id like more companies to realise that

I also hate this sort of thing and think this is massive setback for women in the work place. It’s not going to mean more support, it’s going to mean more discrimination and difficulties for women in their 40s and 50s to apply for jobs. Or should I say even more difficult.

No woman is going to call up their 30 something young boss and tell him they are not coming to work as feeling a bit menopausal today…..

I am 50 by the way and menopausal, but have no issues and absolutely on top form at work!

Of course it should be talked about. Those young men will be managers one day. But how it's done is critical, to not embarrass women of that age.

I would see it as making others aware of symptoms. Menopause can be harder for some than others. It’s no different from mental health awareness as an example. You don’t expect those with mental health conditions to discuss it personally unless they choose to and it’s the same for menopausal women. There is nothing wrong raising awareness, for both men and women. I never thought about symptoms when I was younger and looking back, if I was more aware of the detrimental impact menopause can have, maybe I wouldn’t have been so WTF at my older colleagues inability to function sometimes. Women can lose a lot of self esteem and confidence through menopause.

I dont think it is any different to mental health training for managers tbh. Both should be compulsory.

I work for a large global company. We had some privilege training that was compulsory. It spoke about white privilege, disability, mental health, lgbt community and menopause. I thought it was a bit odd that menopause was a section tbh and don't see it as relevant to anyone else but as a 35 year old, I wouldn't be best placed to know that. It was a good course on the whole although I wasn't sure it was relevant for a workplace. I think you'd have to be a real prick to not already think the things that were in there.

Contact Lauren Chiren of "womenofacertainage.com" she has some free stuff and some that could be paid for by your employer.

My work place have now given us the option of ordering a uniform which is more suitable for the menopause, the one we wear currently can be too warm. l don' t have a problem with it, menopause is part of life, a stage of life why try and sweep it under the carpet. l work with many women a similar age to myself 53 and we talk about it openly and honestly, l also work with alot of younger men and it doesn't bother me that the menopause is being highlighted, its nothing to be ashamed of, if they feel uncomfortable thats on them.

I'm not sure how it would work. I'd like a sign on my desk saying, "Godzilla...do not approach", so colleagues would give me a wide berth all day.

My organisation offers menopause awareness workshops. A lot of male colleagues felt conflicted about whether they should attend or not as they wanted to be supportive but didn't want to seem weird going...

Why on earth would any organisation put on in-person awareness training events? These should be in an online format (all our work training is online) as it massively reduces any embarrassment.

Gosh, this is quite a dramatic spread of views! Clearly any training that is done needs to take into account the fact that some women really do not want to talk about it.

What about actual accommodations - @Surtsey mentioned control of the aircon and I think you're being serious aren't you, or at least that hot flushes are real and we really do need to be cooler one way or another. And I'm actually quite impressed with @Moonface123 employer offering lighter uniforms (NHS maybe?) I wfh a lot and I'm definitely a lot less phased by the thought of the central heating being off to save energy this winter than the rest of the family...

Has anyone actually been offered or taken time off, or more flexibility, or anything concrete like that in terms of reasonable accommodations? Or had it 'taken into account' if it's impacted properly on your performance? I agree that this can be a really good time for women with fewer distractions, but at the same time I have definitely found myself trailing off mid-sentence in meetings/been embarrassed by other forms of brain fog. I know not everyone experienes this by any means though.

@Bestcatmum haha yes a sign would be goo. and @Surtsey perhaps responsibility for assertiveness training in the workplace should be handed over to menopausal women - I am certainly a lot more likely to be ahem frank than I was.

@PragmaticWench that is a very good point. I'm an idiot.

I can't believe I'm reading this. Everyone should be talking about it. Everyone should know about it. Possible symptoms. Openness so we can all talk about it. So that when a woman comes to her manager (one of those now young men in 10 years time) with her problems, he can show decorum and put into place reasonable adjustments subtly so she's not humiliated.

This training should be compulsory, for all.