Channel 4 has announced a new menopause policy that will enable female employees to take paid leave when dealing with the symptoms. The policy has been launched today, on World Menopause Day, to normalise an often ‘taboo’ subject in the workplace.
Launched by 4Woman - Channel 4’s in-house gender equality staff network – the policy will also offer private, cool and quiet workspaces as well as workspace assessments to ensure the office of employees is not worsening menopause symptoms.
Menopause can induce a wide variety of symptoms. While many may be aware of hot flushes, interrupted sleep and increased anxiety, common symptoms also include problems with concentration, recurrent UTIs and heart palpitations. According to NHS Inform, symptoms last around four years on average.
‘This is Channel 4 living its remit, normalising a taboo subject by making it more visible, and we hope that 4Women’s fantastic work will inspire more in the industry to support women in their workplaces transitioning through the menopause,’ said Alex Mahon, the Channel 4 chief executive.
The 4Woman group has also stated that they hope the new policy will encourage better support of menopausal women across industries. According to a survey by shop workers union Usdaw, more than half of women experiencing menopause do not feel comfortable approaching managers to say they’re suffering with symptoms.
And so, despite there being more than 5 million working women aged between 45 and 60 – the most common age to experience menopause – a huge amount of those are not being supported in the workplace.
‘You wouldn’t dream of having a workplace where people weren’t entitled to certain things because they were pregnant, and it’s exactly the same for women with the menopause,’ Labour MP Carolyn Harris told the Guardian in August. ‘I firmly believe there should be legislation to make sure every workplace has a menopause policy, just like they have a maternity policy.’
Earlier this year, research from human resource company Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 59% of menopausal women say symptoms have a negative impact on their work.
And so, it stands to reason that menopause policies should become the norm across industries. While it might not be the norm right now, with prominent media organisations like Channel 4 leading the way on menopause policy, perhaps there is hope yet that this will change.
To find out more about dealing with menopause, click here.
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