Progress on Menopause and Work

There is an exciting article today in The Guardian: “Employers must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for women going through menopause. EHRC cites ‘responsibility to protect staff going through menopause’ as two-thirds of women with symptoms acknowledge negative impact on work life.”

It is wonderful to see employers paying attention to how to support their employees who are going through the menopause transition, and to see that this is becoming the “law of the land” in certain lands! The article is also notable in that it includes three mental health-related symptoms — anxiety, mood swings, and brain fog — in the list of five reasons women have reported caused them to leave work due to the menopause. This echoes the research done by The Menopause Hub’s “Menopause in the Workplace” survey in Ireland.

While there is still a long way to go and much work to be done, it is heartening to see things moving in the direction of supporting women in the menopause transition and acknowledging the impact it can have on mental health.