World Menopause Day, October 18th, is fast approaching and its purpose, unsurprisingly, is to bring menopause centre stage on that day.
All well and good, but we know that simply sounding the siren on one day is not all ‘well’ and neither is it ‘good’. Instead, it is the equivalent of ‘having the policy’ and letting it gather dust on a shelf without an action plan. To make sustainable, beneficial change, employers must integrate menopause awareness, education and support into their workplace. Even better, they can look to demonstrate the impact of what they’ve done and take pride in what they’ve achieved by gaining The Menopause Friendly Accreditation.
Getting it right
Employers getting it right means keeping people in work; raising their self-esteem; allowing them to earn to support their families and provide for their futures with a pension. It also means good practice in the workplace, educating and training colleagues so they, in turn, take this understanding back to their families, friends and communities. It’s a win-win-win. Good for employers, employees and the UK.
Employers have this duty of care – but it’s important to understand this is both social and legal. Menopause is increasingly being cited at tribunals; businesses cannot afford to get it wrong!
It is within an organisation’s best interests to ensure that menopause is addressed. Women aged 40+ are the largest working demographic. Absenteeism due to menopause (although frequently not specified due to fear of reprisals/not being understood) is high. 1 in 4 women in this demographic seriously considers quitting their job due to the affect that menopause is having upon them. Quite apart from the human cost of losing valuable staff, replacing qualified and experienced colleagues is very costly!
Serious business of menopause at work
Menopause in the workplace is a serious business issue which when addressed properly achieves sustainable, meaningful change. Employers may be tempted to rush through something to appease critics and plug gaps in their workplace culture. But beware! A quick ‘pledge and policy’ approach is not the answer– it needs a far greater investment of time, care and resources.
The Menopause Friendly Independent Panel – the body which awards the industry-recognised Menopause Friendly Accreditation to deserving organisations – has worked with over 400 businesses helping them define and refine their policies and practices.
Five mistakes employers make
Here are five of the most common pitfalls it has witnessed: read on to avoid making the same mistakes.
- Employers are not always clear about why supporting menopause matters to them; they lack a vision. This makes it much harder for organisations to know if they have achieved their goals. If employers want to retain and recruit talent being menopause friendly will certainly help with that. Be clear about what you want and the be clear how you will measure that you are succeeding.
- Employers don’t always see just how important it is to listen to their workforce as well as sharing information with them. How do you know what your colleagues want and need and how are you responding to that? Showing this level of listening and response is a great indicator of an open, menopause friendly culture in an organisation.
- Employers think they can support menopause in their workplace as a once and done approach. Understanding of menopause and its impact on everyone is growing and organisations need to see their journey as ongoing. Deepening your understanding of menopause at work, having a rich appreciation of all communities and how best to support them, is an indicator of a menopause friendly organisation. Change must be sustainable.
- Employers focus on outputs of their menopause journey rather than outcome. We know that what really matters is how the changes you are making are impacting your workforce. Change must be meaningful and it must be ‘felt’ by people working in your organisation. Are your people happy to talk to their managers about menopause? Are your managers confident to support colleagues with menopause? When you can demonstrate these changes you will know you are becoming menopause friendly.
- Employers don’t have a future plan. What are you doing next with your training plan, for example? How will you ensure everyone joining your organisation understands your commitments to being menopause friendly and their role in helping to support that?
Take heart – and then take action
You may now be feeling a bit vulnerable but take heart. Now you are aware, you won’t approach October 18th as a target to hit or treat it as a one-day ‘one off’ in the corporate calendar. Instead, use it as a springboard for an education and training programme that will help you shape a policy that has teeth and change your culture to safeguard your employees’ welfare and protect your business bottom line.
http://www.menopausefriendly.co.uk/
