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menopause in the workplace

viv+ workplace

Helping women navigate midlife health challenges to maintain productivity and well-being

Menopause is the natural time in a woman’s life where oestrogen levels fall and regular periods stop. The lead up to the last period is called the perimenopause and is marked by unbalanced hormonal levels. The last period is usually experienced between 45 and 55 years but perimenopause commonly starts in the early 40s.

One in five women will experience severely debilitating symptoms.

Menopause is still at taboo subject at work with most women not feeling they can talk to their colleagues about their symptoms and many trying to hide them, reducing work hours or even resigning from their job.

Awareness, education, lifestyle changes and effective medical treatments will all help relieve the burden of menopausal symptoms at work and in life.

Most common menopause symptoms at work

  • Fatigue

  • Mood changes

  • Sleep disturbance

  • Hot flushes and sweats

  • Increased stress

  • Brain fog

  • Aches and pains

These challenges can lead to reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rates.

60

of women report that menopausal symptoms negatively impact their work

20

experience severely debilitating symptoms

36

take time off as a result of menopausal symptoms

A higher burden of menopause symptoms has a direct impact on a persons ability to work

  • Viv Health helps treat the symptoms of menopause through expert, evidence-based medical care
  • 62% of our patients report reduced impact on work by 6 weeks
  • 91% report significantly improved symptoms by 6 weeks

how does menopause impact your team?

Menopausal symptoms can start in the early 40s and may last through to the 60s. Some women even experience menopause much earlier due to medical illness or surgery. Symptoms of hormonal change are varied in their nature and severity with 20% of all midlife women experiencing severely disruptive symptoms and another 60% experiencing mild to moderate symptoms which may include fatigue, hot flashes, bodily aches and pains, sleeplessness, mood disturbances, brain fog, heavy bleeding and urinary leakage.

Many of these symptoms will impact women directly at work and make them feel less focused and less confident in their work performance. This is also a time when many women are hitting their peak performance only to be disrupted by menopausal symptoms.

Situations such as public speaking, high stakes meetings, working in hot environments or concern about flooded periods all interfere with a woman’s confidence at work.

In addition, many women feel their performance is impaired even though research would show that this is not objectively the case.

Most women do not feel comfortable discussing their experience of menopause with male or younger team members.

how does menopause impact the workplace?

Vodafone completed an in depth research into menopause within their workplace. You can read more about the Vodafone research here.

Overall, they found 60% of women admitting that menopausal symptoms impact to their work, 16% severely.

 

What can workplaces do to support menopause at work?

There are many things a workplace can do to support their team members experiencing perimenopause and menopause. They include

  • increasing awareness of the impact of menopause at work

  • making accommodations where possible for example in uniforms, ambient temperature control

  • enabling flexible working arrangements

  • offering resources for women where they can seek help for their symptoms

  • create policy that crosses diversity, inclusion and wellness

What can viv do to support you and your team?

Education

Viv Health offers engaging 50-minute webinars tailored for women navigating midlife hormonal changes.

These sessions cover the physiological transformations occurring during this stage, common symptoms, potential long-term health implications, and available solutions. Each webinar features an interactive self-assessment quiz, with real-time results displayed on a live dashboard, enhancing participant engagement and understanding.

Medical Care

 

Viv offers a corporate package through its online clinic, providing women with convenient, on-demand access to expert assessments and comprehensive menopause care for an entire year. This flexible approach allows employees to receive support at their convenience, regardless of location.

additional resources

If you are looking for inspiration in creating menopause policy or resources for your team, explore what has already been done!

contact us for more information

“We’re focused on growing dialogue and education around menopause for our employees and Dr Louise Tulloh / Viv Health did an incredible job of engaging with our audience to share her expert advice. Pairing her extensive expertise with her approachable nature, we had a highly engaged audience at our recent event who were comfortable to ask questions and share their own experiences. Our participants found it super informative and told us the upfront assessment was a great way to better understand their own journey.”

Jessica Freer, Senior Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Westpac group

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