employers
must do more for women working through the menopause
Many of the UK’s two and a half million
working women who are in their fifties will be going through the
menopause and many of these women’s jobs could be making their
symptoms worse. Yet the majority of employers are ignoring the
issue, according to ‘Working Through the Change’, a TUC report
out on the eve of International Women’s Day (Friday).
Seventy per cent of women aged 45-59 across
the UK are currently in work and most women experience the menopause
between the ages of 48 and 55. But ‘Working through the change’,
which is based on a recent survey of 500 workplace health and safety
reps, found that only one out of five employers provided information
about the menopause. Only 2% of respondents said health and
safety policies covered menopause-related issues and 45% said
their managers didn’t recognise problems associated with the
menopause.
Further, one in three (31%) respondents
reported management criticism of menopause-related sick leave ,
over a third cited embarrassment or difficulties in discussing the
menopause with their employers, and one in five (19%) spoke of
criticism, ridicule and even harassment from their managers when the
subject was broached. Respondents said that the symptoms of the
menopause most likely to be made worse by work were hot flushes
(53%), headaches (46%), tiredness and a lack of energy (45%) [see
notes to editors for more results].
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber
said: 'Despite the large number of older women in employment, the
menopause is rarely seen as a workplace issue. There is no excuse
for the silence, embarrassment, confusion and inaction around the
menopause - something which all women go through.
'The health of women in later years depends
very much on their health when they are working through the
menopause and employers are not doing enough to protect them.'
‘Working through the change’ recommends
that employers should:
- Provide cold drinking water, easily
adjustable temperature and humidity controls; encourage flexible
working and reduce long hours; avoid penalising staff for taking
frequent toilet breaks, provide quiet rest facilities and advice
for female employees.
- Avoid negative and discriminatory
attitudes towards older women at work by recognising the
potential problems related to the menopause and provide
appropriate information and training to their managers.
- Develop policies in consultation
with unions on the menopause to cover sickness absence, paid
leave for treatment, occupational health screening, flexible
working patterns and rest breaks.
The TUC also wants the Health and
Safety Commission to produce guidance for employers and employees on
the menopause. And the TUC is calling on unions to provide
women workers with advice about the menopause and employment rights
and to develop awareness-raising courses for union reps. A page now
open on the TUC website, http://www.tuc.org.uk/menopause
enables working women to tell us about their experience and views of
the menopause and work.
Case studies from ‘Working through the
change’:
- Barbara was a senior civil servant, who
as she approached fifty began to have irregular and heavy
periods, which were sometimes so bad that she had to go home
sick. Her GP put her on HRT, but this made the bleeding worse,
and she began to suffer from depression and uncharacteristic and
unpredictable mood swings. Her managers were completely
unsympathetic and told her to 'pull herself together'. They
eventually allowed her to work for some of the week from home,
but were also giving her unreasonable deadlines to meet, and
implying that she wasn’t pulling her weight. After four weeks
sick leave, she asked to return to work part time. Her request
was refused so she resigned. Barbara now has another job, where
her colleagues and managers are much more sympathetic. She says:
'I am coping much better with changes in my physical state now
that I no longer have to experience the pressure to conform to
male behaviour patterns, long hours culture and the boys club
mentality. Now I am valued for my intelligence and experience, I
can laugh and joke with male and female colleagues about my
heavy days and hot flushes. They are regarded as no more
significant to my ability to do my job than a heavy cold or jet
lag.'
- Sarah is a mobile library assistant in
the South of England. Her biggest problem is the lack of toilets
and she says there is no real commitment from her managers to
improve the situation. They have even suggested that she finds
suitable toilet stops in readers’ homes and pubs along her
route. This means that she has to control her fluid intake,
which worsens her health. She has no timetabled tea breaks, and
says the temperature and lack of ventilation inside the mobile
vans in the summer is quite unbearable. Sarah wants her employer
to take her menopause more seriously and treat her requests much
more sympathetically.
Further survey results:
Symptoms recorded as likely to be made
worse by work: sweating (39%), anxiety attacks (33%), aches and
pains (30%), dry skin and eyes (29%), and short term memory loss
(29%). Two-thirds of the safety reps (66%) reported that high
workplace temperatures were causing problems for menopausal women,
and poor ventilation was cited by just over half (52%). Twenty six
per cent of respondents complained about poor or non-existent rest
facilities, 21% were compromised by poor or inaccessible toilet
facilities, and 19% had difficulty getting cold drinking water.
‘Working through the change’ has been
written for the TUC by health and safety expert Jane Paul. Copies of
the full report are available from the press office. It will be
available on the web at www.tuc.org.uk/menopause
and single copies are free with a large SAE.
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