Ultimate Guide To Menopause In the Workplace

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About menopause

• 21st-century Guide To Perimenopause & Menopause (Elektra)
  What to know about perimenopause and menopause, as well as the most prevalent symptoms: anxiety, sleep problems, brain fog, hot flashes & night sweats, mood changes, irregular periods, weight gain, and more.
• What women should expect before menopause hits (PIX11)
  Elektra Health co-founder & COO Jannine Versi was on PIX11 with Tamsen Fadal explaining “the change before the change,” aka perimenopause.

About the way menopause impacts women in the workplace

• ‘Don’t suffer in silence’: Toughing it through menopause is robbing women of cash and career advancement (Yahoo! Finance)
• Some employers are expanding reproductive health benefits to stay competitive (HR Brew)

Take action

Elektra Health co-founder & CEO Alessandra Henderson authored an article in Fast Company outlining three concrete ways leaders can make employees feel like their health and wellness isn’t overlooked.

1. Embrace transition
   People aren’t stagnant, so we should stop treating employees as such. Menopause is a major life transformation that is unique and individualized. Employers should talk to their workforce, hear how their lives are changing, and see how they can enact policies that support and embrace their transition. Provide employee education, encourage speaking out, host ERG events and manager training, and fully integrate this into your company at every level.
2. Create thoughtful confidentiality 
   Creating a safe harbor is important. The way employers do this is by providing a confidential direct line to HR, senior management, or an independent third party, so they can provide employees with educational materials and/or a support group to help address the topic with sensitivity.
3. Commit to environmental changes and plan for the future
   Oftentimes, it’s necessary to rethink work policies for the sake of making your employees comfortable throughout the different stages of their lives and careers. And this change doesn’t need to be a huge undertaking. Something as simple as making the physical environment more comfortable can make a big impact. When surveying our employees, a reoccurring complaint was that desks were too hot. We were able to implement a new desk fan policy that almost immediately relieved this issue. It was an attainable and affordable alteration that did wonders for the comfort and health of our workforce.