Wellbeing Archives | Page 9 of 9

A YouGov survey of 1,025 HR decision makers working across UK businesses has found that almost three quarters (72%) of businesses do not have a menopause policy.

This is despite it being widely accepted that the effects of the menopause can be debilitating for a woman’s physical and psychological wellbeing.

Symptoms such as joint pain, hot flushes, memory loss, fatigue, and anxiety can have a huge impact on a women’s confidence and workplace performance.

Indeed, a recent survey published by renowned GP and menopause specialist Dr Louise Newson found that 99% of respondents said their perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms had led to a negative impact on their careers, with more than a third calling the impact ‘significant’.

Almost 20% were off more than eight weeks and half of this group resigned or took early retirement.

Key findings from the YouGov survey include:

Almost three quarters (72%) of businesses do not have a menopause policy.
Over a quarter (27%) of large businesses (250 employees or more) say they have a menopause policy but only 10% of small firms (0-50 employees) do.
Even within organisations where the workforce is more than 50% women, the same low level of organisations (13%) have no menopause policy.
Only 16% of businesses train their line managers about the menopause. 94% of organisations in hospitality & leisure surveyed say they provide no training in this area.
Almost half (44%) of all the businesses that say they do not train their staff about the menopause admit to not having thought about it. 15% don’t consider it a priority whilst 7% claim that sensitivities and embarrassment about the issue hold them back.
Only half of organisations questioned (50%) say they are confident that women in their organisation are feel able to talk about the menopause. Almost 1/3 (31%) say they are not confident and 1 in 5 say they’re don’t know.
Within organisations where the proportion of women was the highest, the confidence levels amongst HR teams that employees are able to talk to their employer was the lowest (57%).
Only 18% of organisations say they provide information about the menopause to their employees with 13% offering internal support groups.
Almost 2/3 (64%) of businesses say they do not consider menopause during performance reviews for female staff. This is even higher in some sectors including manufacturing (76%), hospitality & leisure (75%), media, marketing & advertising (67%).

The YouGov survey was commissioned by employment law specialists at Irwin Mitchell. The total sample size was 1,025 HR decision makers and fieldwork was undertaken between 10th – 28th February 2022. The survey was carried out online.

The UK government were calling it ‘Freedom Day’ – the day when all Covid-19 restrictions would be lifted after two long years.

To be honest, even though Thursday 24^th February was also my birthday, it felt the furthest thing from a Freedom Day that I had ever experienced in my HR career. As one newspaper headline summed it up: ‘The sun is shining, but we’re keeping our umbrella’.

That morning I had taken a call from a HR director who was talking about the pressures her colleagues were facing. Change and uncertainty were causing stress-related absence to spike like never before and, for the first time, her Board had asked about employee financial poverty.

She wasn’t alone – it was the third call I’d had in a week where financial impact was the number one topic of concern.

For years financial poverty has been a ‘dirty little secret’ in many boardrooms – known about, but never really aired in public.

The CIPD recently published data in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that 1 in 8 UK workers are in financial poverty. While research by financial wellbeing platform Wagestream has shown that 75% of the UK workforce have volatile and unpredictable pay, 50% run out of money before payday, 39% are not comfortable managing money, and 11.5 million have less that £100 in savings.

When financial issues are experienced, there is a direct link to mental and physical wellbeing with an impact on absence. If employees are worrying about money or covering up concerns this can also lead to a negative performance of up to 30% in productivity.

In short, the moral case and business case for acting on financial poverty is compelling.

What can I do to understand what’s going on for my Employees?

Over the past two-years’ the world has experienced a profound economic and social shock that has affected businesses and individuals alike. And the war in Ukraine is adding to heightened emotions of fear and distress as well as accelerating an increase in the cost of living – all of which are being highlighted in news, on social media and in every conversation, by the hour!

Now more than ever, it is critical to scrutinise whatever insights and data you have within your organisations thoroughly, to work out who is worst affected. Use the data determine how the trends are changing or have changed and get a plan of action in place to support your colleagues. Where data is light, or insights are not easily accessible, look internally and externally for support, advise and solutions.

Being aware of employee financial poverty it is no longer good enough. You need to demonstrate that you understand workplace poverty and engage in a conversation across the business about what is driving it and how it feels to be in financial difficulty. Only then can you start to put meaningful solutions and practices in place to help.

In my experience, the core to financial freedom begins with education on money health. It’s a topic that I was never taught at my school or in business. But increasingly it is coming onto the agenda of wellbeing, and rightly so. It’s never too late to start educating – and your employees will welcome your support.

Many HRDs and organisations are looking at external solutions to support their efforts on this topic. There are some really great technology-based solutions available which can help give employees ‘power over pay’.

I’m engaging more and more on this topic happy to share my knowledge and insights about the impact it has on wellbeing and inclusion as well as wider People Strategies.

It’s a conversation that is not going away, and it will require a dedicated focus if you are to retain your talent, maximise , workforce productivity, and demonstrate your understanding of what is , going on in everyone’s lives right now.

As I write this, I’m few days older, perhaps a little wiser, and the sun is streaming through my window. But I am acutely aware of the need for umbrella!

Midlife is a pivotal period in our life journey. It can suck – or rock!

Neither well defined nor well understood, Midlife is described simply as ‘the time between youth and old age’. A time which is often associated with stress and crisis – especially for women.

I can relate to this, but there are many positives to celebrate in Midlife too, including higher earnings, status at work, leadership in the family, authority in decision-making, self-confidence, and contribution to the community.

The reality is that these negative and positive aspects of Midlife are not exclusive to women – these are things we will all experience.

50 is the new 30

Employers are slowly starting to take more interest in Midlife workers … and they should, because for the first time in history, over 1/3^rd of the working population are over 50!

On reflection I realise that for many years the HR community (me included!) put our energy, focus and effort on progressive processes and practices that were supporting the needs of the younger working generation. Many of these innovations were ground-breaking – especially around maternity/paternity, IVF, adoption, childcare, etc. – and we should be proud of what we achieved.

However, the ageing workforce means that we now have to widen our focus to meet the wellbeing and mental health needs of those in Midlife and to consider how they can help them to live their best life while performing their job.

I suggest there are three issues we need to prioritise:

Biological Changes – Menopause and Andropause
The tide is turning with conversations at work about Menopause.
Rightly so, as there are 34 symptoms associated with this time in women’s lives – with some individuals suffering for up to 15 years.
However, less understood and rarely talked about is the fact that men can experience 17 of these 34 symptoms – the Andropause.
None of the Midlife men I speak to about the Andropause has heard of it. But all of them recognise that they have experienced the symptoms.
And the number one silent condition in both women and men linked to the biological changes we go through in Midlife is probably the least well known – a loss of bone density.
Osteoporosis typically strikes in older age but starts with the Menopause and Andropause.
Cancer – Breast Cancer/ Testicular Cancer
One in four of us will get cancer.
Breast cancer is the biggest cancer in women and testicular cancer in men.
New cases of cancer are 50% higher amongst over 50’s.
Mental Health – ‘Brain Fog’ and Memory Loss
A symptom of both Menopause and Andropause is ‘brain fog’ and memory loss.
It’s a scary feeling, and people often mistakenly fear that it’s the onset of dementia.
However, the evidence shows that these symptoms pass over time and that cognitive ability is not affected – we remain as sharp as we were.

In most cases if these issues are identified early, they can be treated positively and permanently.

So, is your organization encouraging Midlife colleagues to be aware of these issues and encouraging them to get regular health checks? And are they being given time to get appointments booked and time off to support these issues?

I’m in the camp that wants to Rock my mid life and get up every day and perform at my best.

So, I recently started taking HRT – not because I had any menopausal symptoms, but because my mum has osteoporosis. I have also had a blood tests and bone scans.

My parents are my role models, they exercise every day and have done since I can remember, and they are 83!

Diet and exercise are important. And so is being aware of what is going on in our bodies.

So, my call to arms is for all of us in Midlife to take control of ensuring that we can live our best lives – and for organizations to provide the encouragement, environment, and policies that support their employees throughout their working lives.

For more information, training, policy reviews or insight on how your business can navigate this important topic and “shake” things up, please contact therese@orgshakers.com.