Many women rise into senior leadership positions in their 40s or 50s, just when perimenopause, the transition into menopause, generally occurs. Menopause symptoms start just as they might be stepping up and earning at their highest potential. It can feel like their body is betraying them.

Menopause is not something that happens in midlife, it can happen much earlier. Some can experience early menopause and induced or surgical menopause due to treatment.

There are more than 30 menopause symptoms that can be difficult to pinpoint, change all the time and are unique to each individual. They can be physical, such as hot flashes, joint pain, urinary incontinence and heavy periods. They can also be mental with anxiety, depression, bouts of low confidence and difficulty sleeping. Imagine 10 years of difficulty with sleeping. No one knows what to expect as menopause differs from person to person. But make no mistake, menopause symptoms are significant.

A day in the life of someone with menopause symptoms could involve dealing with a sudden hot flash, rushing to the bathroom to mop up sweat and boiling while everyone else is freezing. They might want to skip a meeting or send someone else because a wave of anxiety makes them feel overwhelmed. Or it could be they want to work from home because very heavy periods have made it virtually impossible to move far.

More than 50% are too scared to talk about menopause at work. Menopause has historically been a taboo topic spoken about in hushed tones – if at all. The symptoms are tough enough without having to manage them in secret.

Our research across 8,000 working women found that 65% do not feel supported by providers. This has a huge potential impact on the workplace – 33%​ have resigned or considered quitting ​their job due to menopause symptoms​ and 19%​ report missing work for one week or more in any given month due to symptoms.

According to a study by LeanIn and McKinsey & Company, for every female at the director level who receives a promotion, two other female directors are choosing to leave the company. These women are leaving the workforce at the peak of their careers not because they don’t want to work, they just aren’t getting the support they need from their employers.

A 2023 study of 4,440 women aged 45-60 conducted by the Mayo Clinic conservatively estimated that the total economic burden associated with menopause symptoms is $26 billion annually in the United States alone.

What does it mean for your workplace? It means a significant loss of senior talent, significant knowledge drain, difficulty increasing gender diversity, increased absenteeism, and a loss of productivity. And yet, supportive treatment is comparatively cost-effective.

Representation matters and supporting senior employees to stay in your company means younger staff have inspirational role models.

The Stella program’s specific menopause care can reduce business long-term healthcare costs:

• Undiagnosed menopause symptoms cost $3,200 per woman per year
• Lost productivity due to untreated symptoms costs $3,550 per woman per year

While you are considering getting serious about menopause, there are some simple changes to the physical setup of offices, resetting expectations around work culture and updating health care policies that can make a difference.

1. Offices

Open-plan offices are a disaster for controlling the temperature and privacy when you’re having a hot flush or need a moment to regroup. Changing the entire floor plan overnight is a bit of an ask but a private break-out room, desk fans, period products in the bathroom and letting people move away from radiators or hot sun can help.

If there are uniforms at your workplace, use a thinner fabric, making it more breathable or even sweat-wicking can make a huge difference to comfort, as well as having a few extra around, if a quick change is required during the day.

2. Culture

Pretending the natural process of aging doesn’t exist is a complete waste of time. Bring the discussion right into the workplace and include menopause within existing training on things like diversity and inclusion, anti-harassment, mental health or parental leave. Invite all genders and ages to understand menopause, so people can learn how to be supportive.

3. Policy

When symptoms are out of control, normalize staff asking for more frequent breaks or pausing while having a hot flash. Leniency from an office around scheduling or more frequent breaks will make a huge difference in retention.

Including menopause as a topic of conversation in corporate communications, employee handbooks, and training gives women the space, support, and education needed to manage menopause without guilt, shame, and embarrassment. Menopause is complex and unique to each person. Treatment for symptoms can take many forms and visits with a gynecologist, endocrinologist, pelvic-floor physical therapist, or dermatologist could all be included. Navigating this care journey is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. This is where Stella comes in, offering all the information and support needed in one place and on-demand.

We offer several onboarding options, from “menopause 101” webinars to demonstrations of the Stella experience. In addition, Stella provides weekly email newsletters for members that includes educational content and opportunities to join our virtual Q&A events with experts. Our experience is that 52% of targeted women who receive this newsletter open it and 15% of those women engage by clicking through to specific content that speaks to them. That experience highlights the unmet need and, we believe, speaks to the power of what Stella can deliver.

We would also be happy to develop an onboarding program suitable for your specific work environment, and can do so on a schedule that works for you.