Menopause in the Workplace, and Storycatchers

Storycatcher’s Director Dee explains why we’re kickstarting an ongoing menopause support programme, why we’re telling the world about it, and why other businesses – especially those with all-male or male-dominated senior leadership teams – can’t afford to continue to treat menopause as a taboo...

A few weeks ago, one of the Catchers asked me for a chat, at which she discussed an array of unpleasant health symptoms she’s been experiencing that are affecting her ability to function normally in her role.

Menopause came up during our conversation, and while Storycatchers has signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge and had a Menopause Policy in place for a while now, in that moment, during that conversation, it didn’t feel enough. 8 out of 10 women will go through their menopause while they’re still at work. We need to know more and do more, to better support each other.

Because menopause will affect every single member of the Storycatchers team. Some of us will experience it ourselves, some of us will live with partners who’ll go through of it, and we all have to work together.

So Storycatcher Sophie volunteered to be our Menopause Ambassador, overseeing a meaningful education programme. So far, she’s arranged for two Menopause in the Workplace training sessions, one designed for the Storycatchers who will go through menopause themselves, the other for people living or working with them. These sessions will be supported by ongoing monthly Menopause Cafes, facilitated by Sophie using external training materials.

I’m one of three Directors at Storycatchers and the only woman, but Jon and Andy feel as passionately as I do about being a ‘menopause friendly’ employer. This didn’t surprise me, knowing them as well as I do, but even now, in this progressive day of our Lord, it’s still not the norm for men to so openly discuss this frustratingly taboo aspect of female health.

And that’s why I’m writing about what we’re doing. As our long-suffering social media manager will tell you, as an agency we’re not really into talking about what we do outside of the campaigns we create. We have virtues that are no doubt worth signalling, but we’ve always believed that Storycatchers isn’t about us, it’s about our clients. We’re not the story.

But when it comes to this, maybe we are. Or rather, maybe this particular aspect of our story will give other employers a nudge to think about taking their own menopause support plans a step further.

There are 4.4m women over 50 in the workplace – it’s the fastest growing workplace demographic – and 56% report that their menopause affects their ability to work. Impacts reported range from reducing their hours and avoiding promotions, to handing in their notice or even taking early retirement.

The talent drain is real. Research shows that women who have one debilitating menopausal symptom at the age of 50 are 43% more likely to have left their jobs by the age of 55, and 23% more likely to have reduced their hours. Frustratingly, only 1 in 10 women feels able to speak to their employer about workplace adjustments – women are afraid that the conversation would be too difficult, or inappropriate.

Too many menopausal women are feeling like they have no alternative but to take the foot off the gas or even leave the workforce entirely, at an age when they’re often at the peak of their career, working as leaders and mentors.

This collapse in female representation at what is often a senior level has significant impact on gender diversity and representation. And it brings with it a financial cost.

If menopausal employees do leave, recruiting and training their replacements costs between 6 and 9 months’ salary, on average. But the knowledge, experience and relationships the outgoing employee takes with them is often irreplaceable. And it’s also avoidable. The CIPD report that 13% of menopausal women report a reduction in the severity of their symptoms when they have an open, supportive relationship with their employer, with reasonable workplace adjustments.

On a human level and on a numbers level, as employers we have to start not just talking about the menopause, but actively supporting our teams through theirs.

So we’ll keep you posted periodically on how our plans are going, and I’d love to hear more about innovative ways that your organisation is supporting their employees - get in touch…