No sweat: managing menopausal symptoms at work

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause usually occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, a time when women are likely to be in the paid workforce. Most women have menopausal symptoms and these may impact on daytime function and work performance. This study examines the relationship between reproductive stage, menopausal symptoms and work, and advises how employers can best support menopausal women.

Methods: An online and paper-based survey was completed in 2015–16 by 1092 women (22% response rate) aged 40 years plus employed in three hospitals in metropolitan Australia. Survey questions examined demographics, health and lifestyle variables, menopausal symptom reporting, and work-related variables. Reproductive stage was determined using modified STRAW +10 principal and descriptive criteria.

Results: Reproductive stage was not significantly associated with work engagement, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, work limitations and perceived supervisor support. Postmenopausal women had lower intention to leave their organizations than pre- and peri-menopausal women. While sleep problems were the most commonly reported menopausal symptom by peri-menopausal women, for postmenopausal women it was joint and muscular discomfort. Only hot flushes and vaginal dryness were significantly more frequent in peri- and post, compared to pre-menopausal women. In general, women rated their work performance as high and did not feel that menopausal symptoms impaired their work ability. Most women would appreciate greater organizational support, specifically temperature control, flexible work hours and information about menopause for employees and managers.

Discussion: Most women did not believe that menopausal symptoms negatively impacted on their work. Organizational changes may reduce the burden of menopausal symptoms in the workplace

Keywords:

• Menopause
• workplace
• management
• employers

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the assistance and cooperation provided by many people in the organizations participating in this research, especially the project sponsor. We are particularly grateful to the women who took time to respond to the survey. The survey was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria, Australia.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Current knowledge on the subject

• Increasing numbers of women are working through the menopause. Symptoms are highly prevalent and may impact on the work experience and performance.

• Modifiable factors in the workplace may exacerbate the troublesomeness of symptoms and recent guidelines advise how organisations can address this.

• Few studies have approached working women to establish their views on what would improve their working environment.

What this study adds

• No differences exist between pre-, peri and postmenopausal employees’ work engagement, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, work limitations and perceived supervisor support.

• Sleep problems, joint and muscular discomfort, and physical and mental exhaustion are the most frequently reported symptoms by peri- and postmenopausal working women.

• Specific interventions which might provide greater support for menopausal women at work include control over the temperature of their working environment, access to cool water and rest areas, flexible work hours and information resources for employees and employers about menopause.

• Limitations of our study include the use of the Menopause Rating Scale which includes symptoms that are not necessarily attributable to menopause and may be due to age or psychological problems (such as joint and muscular discomfort and sleep disturbance), and the low response rate to our survey (22%). Also, we did not control for age when evaluating the relationship between menopausal symptoms and work.

Additional information

Funding

The survey was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria, Australia.