Why Haven't You Heard a Word About "Bring-Your-Menopause-to-Work Days?"

Psst!... Maybe Because They're Not Worth Celebrating

By Geri Brin, co-founder, M.D. For You

Illustrations by: Cé Marina

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Out of the blue, my assistant Lucy would begin perspiring profusely, and within minutes her hair looked like she’d just showered.  The intensity of these frequent sneak attacks—they could happen mid-morning or late afternoon—often forced her to stop working and head home.  

A supremely responsible employee, Lucy worried she was leaving me in the lurch during these episodes, especially when we were up against important deadlines.  She was right. I felt the heat too, you might say, because my boss was counting on me to get the job done, Lucy or no Lucy.

That was many moons ago when I was age 29 and unconditionally ignorant about Lucy’s condition. I’m not even certain she knew what was happening.

If Lucy had uttered the word “menopause,” it would have sailed completely over my head. Besides, women didn’t talk about such personal issues then - certainly not at work. 

We’ve come a long way, baby, and “menopause” has gone mainstream. “That’s all we talk about when we get together,” my 51-year-old friend Lauren told me. 

But talk is cheap, and shockingly, the majority of menopause symptoms still go untreated or are inappropriately and irresponsibly treated. And, like Lucy decades ago, women distressed by hot flashes today are still leaving work, many permanently. 

What’s more, mid-age women are susceptible to a laundry list of additional symptoms. Think heavy bleeding one month, hardly any the next. Sleeplessness. Weight gain. Decreased ability to focus (aka “brain fog”).  Declining libido. And, if that’s not bad enough, toss painful sex into the mix. 

Since women can’t leave menopause with babysitters when they head for work, it’s time for employers to get working on solutions to support them at a crucial period in their lives. 

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Menopause Matters         

• About 6K women in the US, ranging from ages 45 to 55, enter menopause each day

  
  

• Almost 25 percent of the US workforce is in perimenopause or menopause 

  
  

• Less than 10 percent receive adequate treatment 

  
  

• Symptoms can profoundly affect how women feel physically and emotionally, eroding their self-confidence and ability to perform productively

  
  

• Unable to function effectively, about 10 percent of perimenopausal or menopausal working women drop out of the workforce; another 25 percent consider dropping out

Most working women in their 40s aren’t making the connection between their symptoms and their transition into menopause. Many suffer in silence, fearing that if they talk up, their issues won’t be taken seriously, or their job security and chances of promotion will be jeopardized

Since they’re not getting support or solutions in their workplaces, women who seek help on their own are often horribly misinformed by partial truths, persistent myths, and old wives' tales. Treatments prescribed by healthcare providers with scant menopause knowledge or experience make matters worse.  

Going through the menopausal transition doesn’t only affect a woman’s mental, physical, and emotional health and well-being. It affects her employer’s bottom line.

A 2021 Mayo Clinic survey reported that menopause symptoms forced about 10 percent of women in the United States, aged 45 to 60, to take time off in the last year.

The cost to employers amounted to about $1.8 billion.

Employers simply don’t understand the toll that symptoms take on employees or the cost to the company. Workplaces need to develop support for menopausal women, and give them access to medical info and the resources necessary to stay vibrant and healthy in the second half of their lives. 

It’s time to affirm menopause as a health condition that affects women and businesses.

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Dr. Mache Seibel: Champion of Mid-Age Working Women

Dr. Mache Seibel, an international menopause expert, began recognizing the impact of menopause symptoms on working women over two decades ago when his wife’s surgery threw her into early menopause. 

His latest book—Working Through Menopause—explains what should be done to make the workplace a supportive and responsive environment during a woman’s midlife.

“When women drop out of the workforce during the apex of their capabilities, companies lose their connections and institutional knowledge. Women in their fifties have the experience and the chops to take assignments across the finish line, and that’s who they’re losing,” Dr. Seibel stressed. “It takes a year for replacements to fill their shoes.

“Productivity suffers when menopause symptoms go untreated, Yet, women are moving into leadership roles during menopause. It’s a time of growth, learning, and excitement when women mature to become even better workers and seasoned leaders,” Dr. Seibel explained.  

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Why U.S. companies Are Slow to Acknowledge Menopause

“Employers don’t understand the cost of losing these women, and they look at providing menopause support as an expense, rather than saving money in the long run,” he lamented. On the contrary, menopause support translates into increased employee retention, satisfaction, productivity, and fewer lawsuits citing age and gender-based discrimination. Cases of “discrimination against menopause” are also beginning to pop up.  

There’s also a misunderstanding about symptoms. “People mainly talk about noisy symptoms like hot flashes. But there are silent symptoms such as osteoporosis, cancers that may or may not be detected, and heart disease that kills far more women than breast cancer. Many asymptomatic women are unaware of these issues,” Dr. Seibel noted. 

“They have more disabilities and loss of work later in life, which really can be prevented. Companies are blinded by their lack of insight.” 

Women have a window of opportunity for estrogen therapy to lower the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s while minimizing common menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings, and decreased libido, Dr. Seibel said. “But you can’t fix what you don’t know.” 

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Millennials Will Make a Difference

Menopause is a phenomenon of the 20th century. "The average life expectancy for women in the United States in 1900 was 48.3 years, so they didn’t experience menopause", Dr. Seibel said. "They also weren’t as large a part of the workforce as they are now.”

Until Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, companies wouldn’t think of hiring pregnant women for open positions. And, if a woman took a leave from work to give birth, her job would likely be gone if she wanted to return to work. 

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 gave women up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave after giving birth and protected their jobs and access to group health benefits while on leave. 

Millennials have had pregnancy benefits from the moment they entered the workforce. “Once they start experiencing symptoms of perimenopause, they’ll question why they don’t also have benefits and support at this stage in their lives. So there’s going to be pushback,” Dr. Seibel reasoned.