Menopause stigma drives women from workplace, LiveCareer warns
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — A LiveCareer report reveals that menopause is severely impacting workplace performance and career trajectories for women, with 69% stating symptoms disrupt their work and 97% feeling pressured to hide their experience.
The survey of 898 United States working women, conducted by LiveCareer, highlights a pervasive culture of silence and stigma surrounding menopause.
“A culture of silence and stigma leaves many midlife working women managing serious symptoms without support,” the survey noted.
Menopause symptoms disrupt performance, career progression
The mentioned exact symptoms, including difficulty in concentrating or remaining effective (60%), brain fog or memory failure (52%), and emotional ups and downs or anxiety (61%), directly address the key competencies needed to work in knowledge and leadership fields.
“At a stage when many women are growing their influence and leadership, menopause introduces complex challenges that reach far beyond their professional lives,” the report explained.
This effect on performance is exacerbated by the fact that the symptoms often begin at the peak of a career, with 91% of the women experiencing them before the age of 50.
This is where most professionals are also entering senior management and leadership positions; hence, the condition is targeting those with high influence and responsibility.
Their impacts are physical; 31% of women have contemplated job transitions, hours worked, and labeled a change in occupation altogether as a direct consequence of the need to cope with their symptoms, which is a possible brain drain of skilled labor.
Hidden crisis: Women feel pressured to stay silent
Mostly due to overwhelming numbers, women often feel they must navigate these significant hurdles on their own, as there is no environment at the workplace where they can openly discuss these issues.
“Despite struggling at work during menopause, many women feel pressure to hide or minimize their symptoms due to workplace stigma,” the report said.
Ninety-seven percent of interviewees report that they are under pressure to conceal or minimize their menopause symptoms in the workplace, and this is an invisible crisis in which workers are suffering through a lack of support.
This is driven by the fear of being judged and not supported by the company culture, with 61% of the silence perpetrators citing this as the main reason for keeping it a secret.
The unwillingness to raise their voices is also supported by the absence of trust in institutional avenues, as many as 18% of women specifically cite the reason that they do not trust the HR department to raise their concerns.
This silent culture compels women to carry the entire brunt of their symptoms, which the report asserts can impact their well-being as well as their participation.
The information indicates that unless organizations change the culture of their workplaces to de-stigmatize menopause, then they will lose the talent of skilled employees and will continue to have a work environment where a serious health problem is left as a forgotten liability.
