'It impacts not only the well-being of the employees themselves, but can also impact business success'
Canadian employers should be recognizing menopause as a workplace equity issue and taking steps to support affected employees, according to one expert.
“It impacts not only the well-being of the employees themselves, but can also impact business success,” says Sandra Heller, general manager of pharmaceutical company Astellas Canada, in speaking with Canadian HR Reporter.
More than half of employees will experience menopause, she says. She adds that a quarter of Canada’s workers are over the age of 40, with the fastest-growing segment between 45 and 55 years old—the typical age range for menopause onset.
Heller also states that about one in four women going through menopause experience debilitating symptoms, such as hot flashes, which can disrupt sleep and daily functioning.
“Hot flashes can have a terrible impact on people's sleep and their ability to be able to get a good night's rest and to be rejuvenated,” she says. “These debilitating hot flashes can actually cause them to have a number of other issues when you're thinking about one's work. It can cause you to be a little bit more anxious. It can cause you to feel a little bit concerned about how you're presenting yourself within your colleagues at the work that you are doing.”
For women aged 40 to 49, perimenopause and menopause and hormonal are their top health concern (19 per cent), according to a previous report from Sun Life.
Menopause’s impact on employee retention, productivity
Heller emphasises the importance of retaining experienced employees.
“Women are actually maintaining their careers longer in this generation than we have been in the past. And so that means that menopause is affecting more workplaces than ever have been before,” she says. “You're really looking at a group of employees [who] have a significant amount of experience and knowledge in the area that they've been working in. So you really want to make sure that you are retaining those employees and that they are not leaving your workforce.”
She also notes menopause’s impact on productivity, observing that sleep disruption and other symptoms can affect performance.
“When a lot of women are being faced with issues and challenges of sleep, you can imagine that their productivity is not as optimal as it can be or it has been in the past,” Heller says. “If people understand that it's related to a symptom that they may be experiencing, that it's not as a result of a performance issue, then I think that you can really look at taking some steps in order to ensure that the managers and that the employees themselves are being taken care of.”
Menopause “penalty” is pushing women out of the workplace, according to a previous report.
Best practices for employers
Heller calls on employers to accommodate the needs of workers going through menopause.
“One of the key elements is really about education and awareness. So it's making sure that managers, frontline managers, have a true understanding of what these women could be experiencing,” she says.
She encourages HR professionals to consider small adjustments, such as flexible work hours or access to cooling resources, to help employees feel supported.
Heller also calls on senior leaders to take action.
“It's really important to recognise that menopause is a workplace equity issue, and it really impacts not only the employee, but the employer and the success of the business.
“As senior leaders, it's very important that we end up creating a menopause-inclusive workplace for our employees, and taking small steps can end up taking large steps for individuals who may be experiencing this.”
Women are experiencing an earnings reduction of up to 10% years following a menopause diagnosis, according to a previous report.
