In the world of company benefits, maternity coverage is table stakes. Fertility and family building have also increasingly become part of the conversation. But the reproductive health needs of employees, including hormonal health, don't stop there.
Menopause symptoms can make daily life more difficult, including work. Even so, stigma and lack of awareness make it hard for employees to get the care they need.
At Carrot, we believe that employers can support their employees well beyond their fertility and pregnancy journeys. Here’s why HR should consider offering benefits for hormonal ageing, too.
A refresher on menopause and hormonal aging
As we age, so do our hormones. As someone’s ovarian reserve (number of eggs) diminishes, oestradiol (a form of oestrogen) levels drop, and ovulation, menstruation, and the ability to get pregnant start to come to an end. Menopause occurs when someone who previously had periods stops having them for at least 12 months. The average age for menopause is 51, but symptoms can begin up to a decade prior in the perimenopause, or menopausal transition, period.
Menopause symptoms on their impact on employees
An estimated 13 million women in the UK are currently peri- or postmenopausal, with most experiencing symptoms for between four and eight years. Despite popular beliefs around menopause, the experience can bring about far more than just hot flushes. Employees may also experience symptoms that make it more challenging for them to feel comfortable, happy, and productive at work, which is in stark contrast to the reality that many people may feel even more confident and in control of their careers in their 40s and 50s. Common, disruptive symptoms include:
- Fatigue: Poor sleep is common in menopause. When someone continues not to get enough sleep for a sustained period of time, fatigue can set in. Fatigue might mean running late for morning meetings or feeling sluggish throughout the working day.
- Brain fog: A lack of adequate sleep and fatigue can contribute to feelings of brain fog, or feeling unfocused and forgetful. Brain fog might make it difficult for an employee to feel like they’re bringing their A-game to work, despite their best efforts.
- Memory lapses: Oestrogen is linked to memory performance, which means lower levels might impact memory even beyond brain fog.
- Mood changes: Dropping hormone levels can also lead to mood swings and even mood disorders like depression and anxiety. This can contribute to, or compound, the stress someone may already feel at work.
- Nausea: Nobody wants to be at work when they feel sick.
These and other symptoms can be so disruptive that, according to the CIPD's 2023 Menopause in the Workplace report, two-thirds (67%) of women aged 40 to 60 with experience of menopausal symptoms say those symptoms have a mostly negative effect on them at work. This rises to 84% among those who feel unsupported by their employer.
Hormonal ageing can also increase health risks over time. Oestrogen is protective against heart disease, and the loss of oestrogen results in rapid bone loss. Both of these heightened risks can impact your employees’ health in the long run.
Why providing menopause support can increase employee satisfaction
In the UK, around 24% of women aged 40 to 60 say their organisation has a stated menopause policy or other support measures in place, leaving a substantial 43% who don't, and a third who don't know. Around one in six (17%) have considered leaving work due to a lack of support with their symptoms, and a further 6% already have. According to the Fawcett Society's Menopause and the Workplace report, one in ten women aged 45 to 55 working through menopause have left a job because of their symptoms. That’s equivalent to roughly 333,000 women across the UK. A further 14% have reduced their hours likely due to stigma around menopause and women’s health more broadly, employees rarely speak up about their needs before, during, and after menopause.
In addition to feeling a lack of support at work, those going through menopause also report difficulty finding accurate information. Research led by UCL found that more than 90% of women in the UK were never educated about menopause at school, and many enter perimenopause without understanding what it is or when it typically starts.
It’s important to educate individuals on these changes early, so they can be proactive about their health and take preventative measures, understand interventions that are available that can help symptoms, and recognise that menopause care is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
How employers can support their employees through menopause
Although menopause care is available through the NHS, accessing specialist care isn't easy. UK women have historically faced wait times of 12 to 18 months for an NHS-funded menopause specialist appointment, even after a GP referral. Only around 15% of women aged 45 to 64 in the UK currently use hormone replacement therapy (HRT), despite NICE guidance (NG23) recommending it as a first-line treatment for most symptomatic women.
When people do talk to their GPs about menopause, they may find that those clinicians don't feel equipped to support them. A 2022 UK survey of GPs published in Women's Health found that 52% felt they weren't offered enough support to advise and treat women with menopausal symptoms appropriately, and 77.5% said training on menopause needed to be improved in medical school and GP training. Only 60.7% of GPs surveyed felt comfortable managing menopausal women and discussing management options. Meaning around four in ten GPs do not.
Carrot can help you expand benefits to be more inclusive of employees of all ages and support them throughout the entire lifespan. With Carrot, your UK employees gain access to a vetted network of menopause providers, including British Menopause Society (BMS)-accredited specialists through our partnership with Medical Prime, alongside telemedicine appointments and virtual prescriptions that bring wait times down from up to 18 months to roughly one. Members also have unlimited access to chats with specialised Carrot Experts, community support through what can be an isolating experience, and additional tools and recommendations to help your employees thrive at every stage.
