Monday 18 October 2021 is World Menopause Day. At Kent, we support staff as they go through different stages of their life.
Menopause is a natural life event that many of our colleagues will experience. We want to ensure that staff are supported throughout this time, now and in the future. We have curated a range of resources (see below) to help individuals and managers gain a deeper understanding of how to support colleagues before, during and after menopause, including making necessary provisions and adjustments if and when symptoms necessitate this.
If you are currently experiencing symptoms and feel this is impacting on you at work speak to your manager who may decide you would benefit from advice from OH on appropriate adjustments and complete a Management Referral
If you are a manager and have a member of staff who is experiencing symptoms that are impacting them at work, we encourage you to avail yourself of the resources below and to have supportive conversations, to ensure colleagues have the necessary adjustments to help minimise the impacts to them at work at this time. Please be led by staff and their needs – which may fluctuate.
Resources
As part of our membership with Inclusive Employers, we have access to a number of resources including the menopause tool kit
The tool kit aims to equip workplaces with the necessary information, guidance and resources to improve how they support colleagues (including women and some men, trans and non-binary people) before, during and after the menopause.
We also have additional guidance on the Occupational Health webpages, which has details of the EAP and OH referral and the link to the Women’s Staff Network, which has some further resources relating to the Menopause, as well as the Inclusion passport.
In addition, a virtual Menopause awareness session, delivered by Positive Pause is planned for Wednesday 20 October from 13.00-14.00 and bookable via Staff Connect. As part of the session, you will:
- Learn about menopause symptoms and the potential impact of menopause, plus the range of self-care and management options available.
- Find out what support is available and how to access it, both in, and outside of, the workplace.
- Develop confident conversation frameworks to help with discussions at work, at home and with GPs
Helping everyone
From the resources, you will see that there are some general adjustments that could be considered to ensure everyone feels more comfortable, such as:
- Ventilation systems in rooms as well as individual/desk access to fans.
- Engaging providers that use breathable fabrics and materials – for any staff that require a uniform or prescribed work wear.
Some of these changes may support staff who are also experiencing menopause symptoms. The changes could also usefully be considered in environments in which we hold events.
It’s helpful to note that, while menopause is not in itself a disability, severe symptoms may constitute disabilities.