Thought Leadership Deborah Garlick, Menopause in the Workplace
Why menopause matters at work... Deborah Garlick shares how easy it is to introduce training, policies and practices to support your team and your business
D Deborah Garlick EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR
id you know that women over 50 are the fastest-growing workplace demographic? Or that the average age for women to reach menopause in the UK is 51? The fact that an increasing number of women are working through the menopause and beyond could have big repercussions for the hospitality and personal care sectors, as they look to attract more diverse and experienced people to traditionally younger and female-led positions. A menopause awareness plan is therefore important to futureproof your business. Menopause is not just a subject for women. It impacts everyone, whether we go through it ourselves or are supporting a partner, friend, colleague or family member.
Start the conversation
Deborah Garlick is CEO of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace and founder of Henpicked.net. She works with international organisations to educate businesses and their staff about this increasingly relevant subject. Her book, Menopause: The Change for the Better is published by Bloomsbury at £14.99 www.menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk
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The first thing I always say about introducing menopause support at work is to get talking. For many people, discussing menopause may feel a little strange at first. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Normalising it and turning it into an everyday conversation is the first step to embedding menopause into your workplace and wellbeing practices. Start by including menopause awareness articles and stories on your intranet and in magazines, or setting up awareness events to bring the subject out in the open.
What’s right for your business?
Employers should consider how they want to introduce, action and develop a menopause awareness plan. This
is not a box-ticking exercise – you need to embrace this as part of your culture. Measures can include writing a guidance document, running training and awareness sessions, asking Menopause Champions to spread the word and setting up support groups. There are no hard and fast rules, it just needs to be clear that your organisation considers it important, is prepared to consult on what would be helpful, and that employees know support is there should they need it.
Be on the right side of the law
With menopause gathering traction in the media, there have been some interesting developments. An increasing number of workplace www.europeanspamagazine.com
