Here is an odd topic to discuss at work. At the height of my menopause symptoms, I was grumpy.
I am normally a very optimistic, energetic and even tempered person, but when I was at the height of menopause I was anything but my norm.
I was also self-aware. I knew that as a leader and a mom, my mood set off the mood for both my team and my family. When I was grumpy, so was everyone around me. It was terrible because I was on an emotional roller coaster that I could not control.
Menopause is something no one ever educated me. Sure I had heard about “hot flashes” but not about the mood swings, the lack of sleep, the sudden impatience or inability to focus. And certainly it was not a topic for work. On the days or times when I was overcome, I just hid in a conference room or in my office until I felt myself again.
We have so much education and discussion around puberty and adolescence and how to help our students, our children through those difficult developmental years. Why don’t we do more to talk openly about menopause and how to help ourselves, our employees, or our parents through those years?
And I was not alone, although I didn’t realize it at the time. “According to a 2022 survey by Biote….Nearly two out of every five women reported experiencing menopause symptoms that interfered with their work performance or productivity each week and contributed to burnout.”
Until I read this article, I didn’t realize how prevalent this issue was and I hadn’t taken the time to consider what a benefit it would be to businesses to recognize this more systemically and build out benefits, programs or support for women going through menopause. Kudos to Vodafone, Pfizer, Bank of America, Bristol Myers Squibb, PWC, Mount Sinai Health System and Channel 4 who are all called out as offering special programs for women experiencing menopause.
I think we need to demystify this first for each other. I would love to hear what your experiences were.
#womenatwork #leadership #equity
https://lnkd.in/gQjwevxq
MBA Candidate at Kellogg
2moCouldn’t ask for a better duo to solve a more important problem 👏