(Bloomberg) -- From actor Halle Berry shouting “I’m in menopause!” from the Capitol, to increasing government funding for women’s health research, the taboo around menopause has started to ease with more women speaking up about their experience.
And that heightened awareness — especially in the workplace — is set to significantly impact the US labor force, according to a new study.
Some 70% of millennials said they would consider shifting their work arrangements by reducing hours, moving to a part-time role from full-time, changing jobs or retiring early to mitigate menopause symptoms, a survey by Carrot Fertility showed.
“This generation is very vocal about their workplace challenges or anticipated workplace challenges and they are thinking ahead about how menopause might affect their career growth,” Carrot co-founder Asima Ahmad said in an interview.
Menopause is estimated to cost the US economy $26.6 billion every year, including $1.8 billion due to lost productivity and billions more in health expenses. Symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog and sleep problems can all disrupt a person’s ability to get things done at the office. Millennials, the largest generation in the workforce, are increasingly entering their 40s, when menopause symptoms commonly start to appear for women.
Some 61% of millennials are concerned about going through menopause while working, and a third said they’re worried it will damage their career growth, according to Carrot, which provides family-building benefits to employers.
Carrot surveyed 1,000 millennial women (those aged 27 to 43) who have not yet reached menopause, and 1,000 women (aged 44 to 59) who are currently or recently menopausal or perimenopausal. The survey, released Monday, was conducted in August and has a 2% margin of error.
The average age for menopause in the US is 51, according to the Mayo Clinic. Women can face symptoms for years ahead of that during a period known as perimenopause, when levels of the female hormone estrogen start to decrease.
“This is going to affect women who are in their 40s, 50s and 60s when those symptoms are very active and they may be at the height of their careers,” said Ahmad, who is also a practicing endocrinologist and infertility specialist. “Companies are going to lose more in the long run if they’re losing leadership and trying to rehire in those situations.”
Stepping Up
There are some early signs about how this is already playing out. A separate Maven Clinic survey released this month found that a third of millennials experiencing menopause symptoms said their work was impacted. Of those respondents, 15% switched to a less demanding career and 28% avoided taking on new projects as a result.
Some firms are hoping to mitigate the drag on their businesses by helping with health expenses or providing flexibility like remote work so employees can manage symptoms more easily. Some 18% of companies said they currently offer or plan to offer menopause support in 2025, according to Mercer. That’s up from 15% that offered it in 2023 or planned to do so in 2024, and 4% a year before that.The Menopause Society, a nonprofit focused on midlife women's health, recently published a roadmap for workplaces. The recommendations include things like reviewing health care plans to ensure they provide sufficient coverage, allowing access to restrooms with sanitary products and offering flexibility when it comes to scheduling and dress-code policy.
Microsoft Corp. and Standard Chartered Plc provide benefits for employees globally. Yelp Inc. began offering expert-led group sessions and educational content on perimenopause and menopause to help “foster a more inclusive and productive workplace,” Chief Diversity Officer Miriam Warren said in an email.
Sarah Chavarria, chief executive officer of Delta Dental of California, said she hopes talking about her own experience with perimenopause and menopause has helped reduce some of the stigma for her 5,000 employees, most of whom can work from home when they need to under the company’s hybrid policy.
At a recent internal town hall, the most liked comment was thanking her for opening up about her symptoms, which included migraines so severe she once had a colleague call an ambulance, said Chavarria, who is 53.
“The more employees can bring those conversations into the workplace, the more it helps those of us that are structuring the work, the faster organizations will get to evolve,” she said.
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