Hi everyone, I have been asked to draft menopause policy in our company. I am not sure where to start. Would be great if anyone of you could share some experiences. Thank you
The starting point needs to be "what problem is this policy seeking to address?"
Is it about absence due to the symptoms of the perimenopause? Or is it about recognizing postmenopausal women as valuable contributors to the business on par with men of the same age?
If it's the first, then you can probably get by with a policy adjustment to the sickness absence management policy that recognizes the perimenopause as a time-limited clinical condition that may require reasonable adjustments, including increased sickness absence, options for flexible working and consideration with respect to performance. Recognizing that "brain fog" is a temporary condition and allowing perimenopausal women the freedom to identify when it is affecting them and that, therefore, consideration should be given, would be helpful.
If it's the latter, well, doing the first one would be a good step forwards. Senior women leave work at accelerated rates during the perimenopause because perimenopausal symptoms leave them feeling unable to operate professionally, when the situation is a temporary one and pharmaceutical solutions are available.
Obtaining the services of a private specialist consultant, if your budget stretches to it, would be an excellent investment. Unfortunately, GPs have a patchy understanding of perimenopausal symptoms/treatments, and tend to throw a one-size-fits-all-and-that-size-is-HRT solution at it whenever it arises. There are specialist GPs (I'm close friends with one) but they are a rare breed.
And educating both managers and women in general about the perimenopause, its symptoms and the variety of options in treatment would be a good idea, too. Obviously men are pretty ignorant in this area, but it has surprised me how little women know about the perimenopause - but it turns out to be not that surprising when you discover how little quality clinical research has been done on the subject (which is why GPs remain so poorly informed as a rule).
But we're drifting away from policy and into strategy, now, so I'll restate where I began: define the problem you're trying to solve.
The starting point needs to be "what problem is this policy seeking to address?"
Is it about absence due to the symptoms of the perimenopause? Or is it about recognizing postmenopausal women as valuable contributors to the business on par with men of the same age?
If it's the first, then you can probably get by with a policy adjustment to the sickness absence management policy that recognizes the perimenopause as a time-limited clinical condition that may require reasonable adjustments, including increased sickness absence, options for flexible working and consideration with respect to performance. Recognizing that "brain fog" is a temporary condition and allowing perimenopausal women the freedom to identify when it is affecting them and that, therefore, consideration should be given, would be helpful.
If it's the latter, well, doing the first one would be a good step forwards. Senior women leave work at accelerated rates during the perimenopause because perimenopausal symptoms leave them feeling unable to operate professionally, when the situation is a temporary one and pharmaceutical solutions are available.
Obtaining the services of a private specialist consultant, if your budget stretches to it, would be an excellent investment. Unfortunately, GPs have a patchy understanding of perimenopausal symptoms/treatments, and tend to throw a one-size-fits-all-and-that-size-is-HRT solution at it whenever it arises. There are specialist GPs (I'm close friends with one) but they are a rare breed.
And educating both managers and women in general about the perimenopause, its symptoms and the variety of options in treatment would be a good idea, too. Obviously men are pretty ignorant in this area, but it has surprised me how little women know about the perimenopause - but it turns out to be not that surprising when you discover how little quality clinical research has been done on the subject (which is why GPs remain so poorly informed as a rule).
But we're drifting away from policy and into strategy, now, so I'll restate where I began: define the problem you're trying to solve.
