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 Employers need to be sensitive to shifts in physical and mental
health that women may experience during menopause, according to
recommendations from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS)
recently published in Maturitas.
Symptoms like hot flashes, for example, may require cooler workplace
temperatures, while symptoms like insomnia may require flexible
schedules or efforts to reduce job-related stress.
“Very few employers are talking about menopause in relation to their
occupational health and safety policies and procedures, and how they
might best support women, and those who manage them, with
transitioning through menopause,” said Gavin Jack of Monash
University in Australia, lead author of a separate research review
of workplace polices published in Maturitas.
Women go through menopause when they stop menstruating, typically
between ages 45 and 55. As the ovaries curb production of the
hormones estrogen and progesterone in the years leading up to
menopause and beyond, women can experience symptoms ranging from
irregular periods and vaginal dryness to mood swings and insomnia.
For working women, menopause can also negatively impact job
performance because it can impair concentration and memory. Many
women are unable or unwilling to request accommodations that might
make work easier, Jack and colleagues note in their review.
At the same time, women who are overworked or stressed on the job
may experience worse menopause symptoms, the researchers note.
High temperatures, poor ventilation, confined spaces, excessive
crowding, and insufficient spaces for rest or bathroom breaks can
all contribute to an environment that causes problems for menopausal
women, the researchers also note.
While more studies are still needed to determine what specific
interventions or policies in the workplace might make remaining on
the job easiest for women during menopause, employers in the
meantime should move forward with creating a culture that makes
women feel comfortable disclosing symptoms or requesting
accommodations, the researchers conclude.
In a Maturitas article outlining the EMAS recommendations, Amanda
Griffiths of the University of Nottingham Innovation Park in the
U.K. and colleagues note that managers might need training in how to
support menopausal women and deal with any symptoms in a sympathetic
manner.
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Among other things, employers can provide desk fans, air
conditioning and cold drinking water when women have hot flashes,
for example, or offer flexible work schedules for women with
insomnia and take steps to reduce stress that can exacerbate
symptoms, the recommendations also suggest.
Women may also need access to clean bathrooms and more frequent
toilet breaks if they experience particularly heavy menstrual
bleeding during the menopause transition or have urinary
incontinence.
Even though the specific symptoms may vary from one woman to the
next, and the accommodations needed might differ based on the type
of work, all employers should make women feel comfortable on the job
during menopause, said Sagar Borker, a researcher at KVG Medical
College in India who wasn’t involved in the research review or the
EMAS recommendations.
“Menopause symptoms can change work performance tremendously,”
Borker said by email. “If the lady gets symptoms treated then her
efficiency improves, but if symptoms are ignored, self-medicated or
left untreated then work performance will keep deteriorating.”
SOURCES: http://bit.ly/1ZYWKTz and http://bit.ly/1UMXW9d Maturitas,
online December 16 and 29, 2015.
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