Menopause in the Workplace | Nutritional Matters

Perimenopause and menopause don’t stop at the office door.

Women can be navigating hot flushes, disrupted sleep, fatigue, changes in concentration, brain fog or a dip in confidence while still leading teams, presenting to clients, meeting deadlines and doing the work their organisations rely on them to do.

Yet menopause at work can still be difficult to talk about.

For some women, there can be embarrassment around visible symptoms. Others may worry about being perceived differently, particularly when age and gender already influence how women are viewed in professional environments. Some simply don’t know whether menopause is something they can — or should — raise at work.

That makes this bigger than an individual health conversation.

It is also a workplace conversation.

And as more organisations introduce menopause policies, workplace wellbeing initiatives and women’s health education, there is an opportunity to do more than acknowledge the subject. We can make it easier to understand and easier to talk about.

What can menopause look like at work?

There is no single workplace menopause experience.

Perimenopause and menopause can affect women differently, and symptoms can change over time. But consider how some commonly reported experiences might intersect with an ordinary working day.

Poor sleep can make an already demanding week harder. Changes in concentration or word recall can feel particularly unsettling when you’re used to thinking quickly and communicating confidently. A hot flush can feel much more conspicuous when it happens halfway through a presentation.

Fatigue can make a full day of meetings feel different from how it once did.

And then there is confidence.

When your body or brain suddenly seems less predictable, it can be easy to start questioning yourself — even when your experience, knowledge and professional ability haven’t disappeared.

This is one reason workplace conversations about menopause need nuance.

It isn’t about assuming every woman of a certain age is struggling. It’s about understanding that some women may be navigating significant changes while continuing to meet the expectations of their working lives.

Why don’t women just talk about it?

The obvious answer might be: if menopause is affecting you at work, tell your manager.

In practice, it isn’t always that simple.

Menopause intersects with two subjects workplaces have historically struggled to discuss well: women’s health and ageing.

A woman experiencing a hot flush during a presentation might laugh it off. Someone struggling after months of broken sleep might say nothing. Another woman experiencing brain fog may quietly wonder whether she is still as capable as she used to be.

There can be embarrassment, uncertainty and concern about being judged.

That silence matters.

A supportive workplace doesn’t require women to announce personal health information. Nor should every change in a woman’s performance or behaviour be attributed to menopause.

What organisations can do is create an environment where the subject isn’t taboo.

When people understand what perimenopause and menopause are, the language becomes more familiar. When managers have some context, conversations can become less awkward. And when women see their organisation treating menopause as a legitimate health issue rather than a punchline, asking for support may feel more possible.

Why should employers care about menopause?

Women experiencing perimenopause and menopause can also be some of the most experienced people within an organisation.

They may be senior leaders, managers, technical specialists, mentors and long-standing employees carrying years of organisational knowledge.

That makes women’s health at work more than a wellbeing initiative.

There are broader questions around employee experience, confidence, workplace culture and retaining experienced people.

Supporting menopause at work doesn’t mean organisations need to solve women’s symptoms. Employers aren’t healthcare providers and managers shouldn’t be expected to become menopause experts.

But workplaces can become better informed.

They can make appropriate support easier to access. They can educate managers. They can examine whether their policies reflect the realities of their workforce. And they can create a culture in which a woman experiencing a health change doesn’t automatically feel she needs to hide it.

That is where workplace menopause education can make a practical difference.

What is a menopause workplace policy?

A menopause policy is a workplace document or framework that sets out how an organisation approaches menopause and the support available to employees experiencing it.

The exact approach will vary between organisations.

Some businesses may introduce a standalone menopause policy, while others may address menopause through existing wellbeing, flexible work, diversity, inclusion or health policies.

But there is an important distinction between having a policy and creating a workplace that understands it.

A beautifully written document sitting on an intranet doesn’t automatically make a difficult conversation easier.

Employees need to know the policy exists. Managers need to understand their role. Women need to feel comfortable accessing whatever support is available.

That requires conversation as well as documentation.

A menopause policy is a start. Education brings it to life.

I’m often brought into organisations around workplace menopause conversations and policy initiatives.

One of the most valuable things education can do is provide context.

What is perimenopause? What is menopause? What changes can occur? Why are experiences so different? What might these changes look like during a working day?

When these questions are answered by someone with relevant health expertise, organisations don’t have to rely on a generic handout or information gathered from a quick internet search.

More importantly, people have an opportunity to engage with the subject.

That’s where the conversation can begin to shift.

The objective isn’t to give everyone a list of tips and send them back to their desks.

It’s to help people understand what they’re talking about in the first place.

Menopause education isn’t only for women

One of the misconceptions about workplace menopause support is that it should sit entirely within women’s groups.

Women absolutely need access to credible information about their own health.

But if we want to make menopause easier to talk about at work, the conversation cannot always stop there.

Managers can benefit from understanding the subject.

So can leaders and colleagues.

I’ve previously delivered workplace education where men were included specifically so they could better understand the experience of their colleagues and participate in the conversation without embarrassment or assumptions.

That doesn’t mean a male manager needs to recognise menopause symptoms.

It certainly doesn’t mean colleagues should start diagnosing one another.

It simply means people can understand what menopause is, recognise why it matters and respond more appropriately when someone chooses to talk about what they’re experiencing.

That shared understanding can help take some of the awkwardness out of the room.

What should managers know about menopause?

Managers do not need to become menopause practitioners.

That point is important.

Good workplace menopause education isn’t about teaching managers to diagnose symptoms, recommend treatments or decide whether someone’s health concerns are hormonal.

Their role is still to manage people.

What helps is having enough understanding to listen without dismissing the subject, know what organisational support is available, avoid making assumptions and have a respectful conversation when an employee raises an issue.

Sometimes the most useful response is simply being able to say, “Okay. What would help?”

The medical conversation belongs between a woman and the appropriate health professionals.

The workplace conversation is about creating the conditions in which she can continue to do her job without unnecessary embarrassment or stigma.

Why bring in a women’s health expert?

There is no shortage of menopause information online.

That is part of the problem.

Employees can search for menopause symptoms and find thousands of results. Organisations can download resources. HR teams can compile information.

But information and understanding aren’t the same thing.

When organisations provide health education, they need confidence that the information being shared is credible, evidence-led and appropriately communicated.

My perspective also comes from both sides of the conversation.

Before moving into women’s health, I spent around 20 years working in corporate environments across banking, property and aviation. I understand meetings, deadlines, leadership responsibilities, performance expectations and the realities of professional life.

I’ve since spent more than 12 years in clinical practice working directly with women and seeing the complexity of health through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.

Those two careers now come together in my speaking and workplace education.

I understand the health conversation.

And I understand the workplace it is happening in.

The conversation needs to be bigger than menopause, too

Menopause deserves the attention it is finally receiving.

But it shouldn’t become the only health conversation we have with women in their 40s, 50s and beyond.

Sleep matters. Brain health matters. Bone health matters. Cardiovascular health matters. Nutrition, metabolic health, strength and stress matter.

Healthy ageing matters.

This is why I often talk about women’s midlife health rather than menopause alone.

Perimenopause and menopause may be the doorway into the conversation. Once we walk through it, there is a much bigger opportunity: helping women understand the body they’re in now and make informed decisions about the decades ahead.

That is a conversation workplaces can play a valuable role in supporting.

Does your workplace need this conversation?

You don’t need to work in HR or People & Culture to ask the question.

Sometimes change starts with an employee attending a talk, reading an article or having a conversation and thinking:

Why aren’t we talking about this at work?

If your organisation doesn’t currently provide menopause education, you can share this article with your manager, People & Culture team, women’s network or workplace wellbeing lead.

Ask whether your organisation has a menopause policy.

Ask what support is currently available.

Or simply ask whether it’s time to start the conversation.

I deliver evidence-led talks and workplace education on perimenopause, menopause and the wider picture of women’s health, tailored to help organisations make these subjects clearer and easier to discuss.

CTA: Enquire About Angela Speaking at Your Workplace