- Recent survey found 23%[i] of women who have been unwell as a result of the menopause have left jobs
- Evidence businesses are increasingly addressing the topic of (peri) menopause in the workplace to help retain talent
- Eventbrite sees attendance to menopause events under business category increase by over 450% over the last three years
Attendance to menopause events in the workplace on ticketing and event platform Eventbrite has skyrocketed by over 450% from 2019 to 2021, as businesses seem to acknowledge the effects of menopause on employees and educate themselves on how to help them through this challenging time.
Eventbrite found there were as many attendees to ‘menopause in the workplace’ events in 2021 as the previous two years put together, suggesting both employers and employees are waking up to the fact that menopause can lead to increased absenteeism and reduced productivity or, even worse, losing experienced female talent.
Furthermore, with the rise of UK employment tribunals[ii], citing menopause, employers have even more reason to support the 5.78 million women of perimenopausal or menopausal age currently in the workforce today[iii].
Over the last three years, events on the ticketing and event platform have included seminars, talks, workshops, conferences, training and roundtables, offering a wide variety of information to employees, HR professionals, managers and employers. Topics have covered menopause training for line managers, menopause and mental health, policies and procedures, diversity and inclusion, symptoms of menopause, menopause discrimination and creating a menopause friendly workplace.
Maybe surprisingly, this increased interest in addressing menopause in the workplace in the UK is not being mirrored across the Atlantic: over the past two years, there have barely been any such events in the US.
In the UK, healthcare professionals, celebrities and social media influencers have increasingly been speaking openly about menopause, once a rarely discussed topic. In doing so, they seem to have created a new willingness for women to talk and learn about what they’re going through, and this is being reflected in the workplace.
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Eventbrite creator, Really Helpful Club, holds up to eight menopause events a year, the majority of them corporate events for the likes of Schroders and Vodafone UK.
Caroline Edwards, events director at Really Helpful Club said: “The number of working days lost to menopause is enormous so there’s a huge business case for supporting women rather than losing them. Too many give up work as they’re reaching the peak of their careers while others hide their symptoms and soldier on, but can be less productive. Businesses can help by making simple adjustments in the workplace to accommodate women with symptoms, such as regulating the temperature of the workspace.
“Most women are informed about menopause so it’s now about educating men too. Its important line managers are able to look for signs of struggle. It’s been encouraging to see so many men engaging more with our events because even if what they learn isn’t helpful in the workplace there’s every chance it could be useful for them at home.”
[i] [i] Survey of 2,000 employees and 500 business owners by Benenden Health
[ii] Analysis of HM Courts and Tribunals Service figures by Linklater
[iii] Koru Kids data extrapolated from ONS
