Menopause support for employees
We, females, are always good at multitasking and we tend to carry on no matter what we are going through. When it comes to our health, we actually forget about what we ourselves might be going through.This is not ideal. My biggest learning from my menopausal experience is that suffering in silence is not the way forward.
Many of us have strong work ethics, being loyal and fully committed to our employer. However, some of us may end up leaving employment due to our menopausal symptoms and not managing to cope with these symptoms at work. This is because no support or the right support is not available from many employers. This means that employees lose out, and employers: they lose a loyal employee.
Remember menopause is not an illness. It is the time where women go through changes mentally and physically because of the hormone imbalances in our bodies. Some may experience few symptoms, whereas others may go through a very testing time. Symptoms creep up very slowly without realisation and many women do not understand what is happening to them.
What was my experience at work?
What should you do?
As an employee you have the responsibility for your own wellbeing and others around you. You have a duty to:
- Take reasonable care of your own health and safety
- Take reasonable care not to put other people – colleagues and members of the public – at risk by what you do or don’t do in the course of your work
- Inform your employer if something happens that might affect your ability to work.
Your employer has a legal responsibility for your health, safety and welfare. Your employer may need to change the way you carry out your duties, if your ability to work is affected and you suffer as a result of doing your job without adjustments.