October is Menopause Awareness month and while a significant proportion of the workforce is made up of people who experience menstruation, menopause, and hormonal change – including women, non-binary individuals, and transgender men and women – little is done in the workplace to acknowledge this.
The impact of workplace design on the pain and discomfort associated with hormonal fluctuations is an emerging field for most businesses. Earlier this year, Motionspot commissioned research among 2,000 office workers to highlight the impact of the negative effects of hormonal fluctuations on both employers’ and employees’ productivity, efficiency, and financial outcomes.
The respondents were people who experience menstrual symptoms (cisgender women, transgender men, transgender women, non-binary, and alternative identity); attend the office at least twice a week; and work for companies with 250 plus employees; 50% (1,000) of whom were perimenopausal or menopausal, 50% (1,000) of whom were non-menopausal.
Menstruation is the monthly bleeding, or ‘period’, experienced by a person with a uterus (womb) as the body discards the monthly build-up of the lining of the uterus. Menopause, when a person who has menstruated stops having periods, usually happens between 45 and 55 years old. Symptoms include hot flushes and night sweats. Peri-menopause refers to the time when the body of someone who has menstruated naturally transitions to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years.
The research revealed 61% of respondents felt their mood is affected during hormonal fluctuations, 58% find their concentration is affected, 44% face fatigue and 29% deal with pain. The time people are negatively affected by hormonal changes was also significant: nearly eight consecutive days per month for non-peri/menopausal respondents, on average, rising to just over nine days for people experiencing the peri/menopause, with 42% of this group impacted for between eight to 31 days per month. The impact of this on personal wellbeing and work productivity and profits could be substantial.
The research showed 48% do not have access to the feature they say is most useful to manage their pain and discomfort at work: a place to lie down; a hot bath and shower; and a dark or dimly lit space.
Fresh air was the most common feature that would attract people to work more days in their current workplace, at 37%, increasing to 41% for people experiencing peri/menopause. The next most common responses were desk seating, natural light, a private room to decompress, temperature-controlled spaces, and more focus rooms with less distractions.
Specific insights from respondents include: “Private and secure changing and showering space would make a huge difference as someone with a heavy flow, as the cleaner I feel, the more productive I am”.Another respondent says it would be good to have “a quiet room to just go and sit for 10 mins to massage my tummy when I have pain”, while others identify “screens between desks for privacy to hide hot flushes”, “more open space so I can move freely to help with discomfort” and “spaces to emote”.
The data highlights that the spaces and products people need to ease hormonal symptoms are not readily available in workplaces. But many working environments could introduce the factors that would reduce pain and discomfort, such as focus rooms, comfortable seating, sleep pods, and sensory controls.
While 35% of respondents report that their hormones are most impacted by conditions common with the menopause, for 53%, conditions associated with menstruation have the greatest impact. These include: premenstrual syndrome; polycystic ovary syndrome; endometriosis and premenstrual dysphoric disorder; pregnancy; miscarriage; chest-feeding/expressing; and in vitro fertilisation.
It is also worth noting that there is a big overlap of workplace features desired by people experiencing hormonal fluctuations and those with neurodivergent conditions related to sensory modulation. This should encourage organisations to engage with staff to create happy and healthy working environments that facilitate choice and enable everyone to be their best and whole selves in the office.
Progressive organisations that embrace inclusive design will enjoy improved productivity, performance, and staff retention, and become the top choice for workers at every age and life and career stage.
Ed Warner is founder and chief executive of Motionspot
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