Today is World Menopause Day! The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing.
Menopause is not just a gender or age issue as it can impact colleagues both directly and indirectly and should therefore be considered as an organisational issue. All managers need to know about it and how they can support their staff. Managers should also be aware of the indirect effects of menopause on people such as spouses, significant others and close family members/friends of individuals going through menopause. The transition can put additional pressures and changes on relationships. It is therefore important that managers are able to signpost to appropriate support channels.
Awareness on this topic is fundamental to wellbeing and reducing the stigma attached to it is vital so that more people feel that they can talk openly about it and menopause can begin to be normalised.
Here at CityCare, we recognise the need for our colleagues to have supported time in which they can gather as a forum to discuss menopause and its impact on health and well-being at work. We acknowledge that lack of support for women undergoing symptoms can contribute to additional stress in the workplace and can even prompt people’s decision to leave their jobs.
Fiona Cambridge, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead said: “Every year high numbers of women leave their jobs because they are struggling with menopause symptoms. Often women don’t feel able to discuss this with their family, GP, managers or colleagues and some don’t recognise their symptoms are related to the menopause. Symptoms can include lack of sleep, hot sweats, low mood, anxiety, palpitations, joint stiffness and aches and pains, headaches and problems with memory/concentration.
“We need to ensure that we are doing all we can to meet the needs of women who are affected, to whatever degree, and we are in process of setting up a menopause support network at CityCare to provide education, advice and support to those affected and staff who support them.”
Date published: 18 October 2021
