With the number of menopause-related tribunal cases rising, it’s never been a better time for firms to gain additional support to help their employees experiencing menopausal symptoms.
The UK’s first Menopause Employment Champion, Helen Tomlinson, is joining forces with the CIPD to work with as many organisations of different sizes and sectors as possible to spread the word about how menopause supportive work cultures are essential to attracting and retaining valuable talent for UK workforces.
Recent CIPD research shows just how much of a difference that support from employers, line managers and colleagues makes to how people manage the impact of menopause in their working lives.
Of the 2,000 employees experiencing menopause symptoms, nearly half (48%) said that flexible working is viewed as most helpful when managing symptoms.
Other measures that employees said would help them feel supported include:
- Ability to control local temperature (cited by 46%)
- Having a healthy and open workplace culture (38%)
- Last minute or unplanned late starts after sleep disturbances (36%)
- Working with female colleagues of a similar age/experiencing menopause symptoms (26%)
- Employer awareness raising and training (16%)
- Understanding colleagues (15%)
- Management support (13%)
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 is vital that women feel supported to progress their careers throughout all stages of their working lives.
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Email Jaime“Open and supportive cultures are pivotal in ensuring women can talk about menopause symptoms and get the support they need at work, as well as being able to raise any concerns.
“Flexible working practices can also help those affected by menopause to manage symptoms. There’s a variety of flexible working practices organisations can offer for most roles, including flexitime, compressed hours, hybrid working, job-sharing and different forms of part-time working. By outlining the options available in job advertisements, employers are likely to be able to recruit from wider talent pools and in turn create fairer and more inclusive workplaces.”
Helen Tomlinson, Menopause Employment Champion, added, “Menopause is an entirely natural but sometimes difficult period affecting 51% of the population. But this is not a time to step down, step back, or step out of their working life.
“It is important that businesses have access to best practice. This shouldn’t be used as competitive advantage in organisations but as part of their Employee Value Proposition. All women, regardless of employer size, sector, race, or socio-economic demographic should be included in this work.
“I am therefore delighted to be collaborating with CIPD. These latest insights are welcome, and I look forward to working with them to amplify and advocate the great work being done to support women and people experiencing perimenopause or menopause.”
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