Nearly 55 per cent of employers have seen demand for menopause support increase in the past two years, according to Peppy.
Over a five-year period, the same is true, with nearly two-thirds of employers observing this increased interest in employer-sponsored menopause support.
Peppy director of menopause services Kathy Abernethy says: “Organisations are witnessing an increased demand for menopause support from their staff and we don’t see this trend slowing anytime soon. We have conversations with employers who might not have considered budgeting for menopause support in the past, or thought their more general employee benefits provision was adequate; however, they now realise that they must prioritise this type of specialist support.”
Nine out of ten businesses that do provide menopause support anticipate that their company will be more appealing to menopausal employees looking for jobs, and 88 per cent anticipate that they will be better able to keep menopausal employees on staff.
Peppy’s research reveals that over a third or 36 per cent of employers feel that they are behind the curve, or it’s not even on their radar, when it comes to offering menopause support, despite the pressure from employees wanting it and employers’ understanding of the positive impact that this can have on recruitment and retention.
In terms of the support they provide, 17 per cent of HR leaders believe their company is “a little” behind others, 6 per cent think they are “far behind,” and 13 per cent stated menopause assistance is not currently on their radar or something they are particularly interested in providing.
Abernethy says: “Many early adopters offered menopause support because they wanted to do the right thing, and recognised the impact of not doing so, and others are now quickly following suit as they can’t afford to be an outlier in their industry. Either way – employees will benefit from a greater number of organisations offering them support. Those who don’t get up to speed with offering support are likely to suffer as a consequence.”
According to Peppy’s research, when menopause is not supported, businesses themselves are immediately impacted. Around 38 per cent of companies report that staff members have quit because of menopause symptoms.
Additionally, according to 64 per cent of HR professionals, their company has seen instances of staff members missing work due to symptoms associated with the menopause. Of these, 32 per cent report that their company has had employees seek sick absence due to menopause symptoms “quite a few times,” and 50 per cent said it has happened “a couple of times.”
Abernethy says: “Businesses are directly affected when staff take absence or leave the business all together because of menopause-related issues. Individuals benefit when they’re supported, and it’s also in the interest of the company to look after this important demographic, to reduce absence and keep people at work.”
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