We know perimenopause and menopause can really affect our mood, our relationships, our health – and now, we’re seeing that menopause and work / careers can be a tricky combo to manage for many women, hit particularly hard by the transition (or by difficult workplaces!). So, what is being done overseas? How do we stack up here in NZ? We talk through it with a NZ employment lawyer, who is sounding the alarm on a quiet crisis.
After eons of it operating as the ‘silent transition’ – the inevitable new chapter in a woman’s life that for some, can really tip our lives upside down. Thankfully, in recent years, menopause – and perimenopause – has started to come out of the shadows.
We know more about the effects menopause has on our bodies, our minds – our relationships (menopause can actually be a key driver in divorces), so it makes sense that it can also have a profound effect on our working lives. And, unfortunately, these effects can be quite catastrophic.
Mary Breckon O’Sullivan is a leading New Zealand employment lawyer who is sounding the alarm on a “quiet crisis”.
A startling one in ten women are resigning from their jobs due to menopause symptoms – and many more are suffering in silence, reducing their hours or taking extended periods of unpaid leave.
Sixty-four percent of women say that menopause affects their lives, but, what policies do we currently have to help and protect these women? Mary says it’s time workplaces caught up.
Currently in NZ we have some legal protections, with menopause technically falling under the Health & Safety and Human Rights Acts.
“This hasn’t been tested in the New Zealand courts, but overseas in the UK they have essentially characterized menopausal symptoms as a disability for the purposes of their human rights protection,” says Mary. “It’s a very widely interpreted term. I think it sits quite awkwardly under the umbrella. Likewise, the Health and Safety at Work Act requires PCBU [Person Conducting a Business of Undertaking], organisations to take reasonable steps to ensure that their employees are safe at work. So, that includes when they have a knowledge of a medical condition, so menopausal symptoms, which are affecting them in the workplace, to make those adjustments.”
In October 2024 a new bill – the Employment Rights Bill – was passed by the UK Labour Government, introducing a new policy for menopausal women. It mandates large employers to publish menopause action plans and requires all employers to offer support, such as flexible working.
Over in Australia, $64.5 million has been invested into awareness and healthcare around menopause, and workplaces have been urged to adopt menopause policies.
Mary says it’s essential that we normalize menopause as a legitimate workplace and that we create real change in this space. She’s advocating for introducing menopause policies, educating people leaders, and making simple accommodations in all workplaces.
“It’s going to depend on the nature of the work that the woman who is experiencing the symptoms undertakes, but some appropriate measures could be flexible working arrangements, remote working, flexible hours, ensuring temperature management for hot flushes… even just ensuring that there’s access to cold water!”
Mary says an important one is flexible work arrangements. “Some employers now even offer some additional leave for women, because a lot of women who are experiencing quite harsh menopausal symptoms use up their sick leave entitlements. That’s going to be a judgement call for the employer, if that’s something they can financially afford or want to offer, but that’s a discretionary entitlement that we’re seeing some employers – particularly larger employers – starting to implement.”
Some though, are concerned that in a world that is already sexist and ageist towards women, that this may only exacerbate those issues.
“I’m getting a lot of that,” says Mary, “although I’d say there’s a lot more positive feedback on the whole with the policies that are being implemented and introduced, but there is definitely a cohort of women who are concerned that more conversation will lead to discrimination.”
So, if we are in the throes of peri or menopause, and really struggling at work, what does Mary suggest we do?
“The first steps would be just to flag with your manager what it is that you’re experiencing,” she says. “That could mean potentially having a look online first, because there are a lot of online resources, and then determining what could be reasonable to start a conversation with them about. Is it, for example, a lot of women experience sleeplessness. So, is it appropriate that you suggest you start your hours a little bit later, if possible? It will depend on your workplace. But, I think coming to an employer not just with the issue, but perhaps some solutions if possible, is a really good starting point.”
