The message is clear: menopause supportive work cultures are essential to attracting and retaining valuable talent for the UK workforce. And that’s exactly what the CIPD and Menopause Employment Champion Helen Tomlinson intend to make heard in as many organisations of different sizes and sectors as possible.
Empowering women to continue working whilst experiencing transition into menopause is important. It’s an area Helen has been focusing on in her work to help employers develop policies that will forge a new landscape for women in the workforce.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, said: “We’ve been championing the importance of menopause friendly workplaces for several years and we look forward to amplifying this work. Particularly at a time when skills shortages persist, employers can’t afford to be missing out on valuable talent, and it’s vital that women feel supported to progress their careers throughout all stages of their working lives.”
The CIPD launched its Manifesto for Menopause at Work in Parliament in 2019, calling for the Government to create a Menopause Employment Champion role. And ever since, we’ve been been regularly supporting our community of almost 160,000 members with practical guidance, education and support.
New CIPD research highlights the importance and impact that line managers and employers have on how women manage the effects that menopause has on their working lives. Our survey of more than 2,000 employees experiencing menopause transition found that of all the things employers can do to help women manage menopause symptoms at work, flexible working is the most helpful (48% of women agreed).
Other helpful adjustments respondents cited included:
- The ability to control local temperature
- Last minute or unplanned late starts after sleep disturbances
- A healthy and open workplace culture
- Working with female colleagues of a similar age/experiencing menopause symptoms
- Employer awareness raising and training
- Understanding colleagues
- Management support
More than two thirds (67%) also feel that the move to more home and hybrid working will make dealing with menopause symptoms easier. But, with an estimated 60%* of employees in roles which require them to be in the physical workplace, employers need to consider a range of flexible working options to suit different roles and sectors.
