World Menopause Day – 18 October 2022

World Menopause Day is held every year on 18 October, to raise awareness, break the stigma and highlight the support options available for improving health and wellbeing.

Menopause is not just a gender or age issue; it is an organisational issue.  It can impact on colleagues both directly or indirectly. Awareness on this topic is fundamental and reducing the stigma attached to it is vital so that more people will talk openly about it so it can begin to be normalised and people can get the support they need. NHS Employers continues to highlight the importance of this topic and continue to support organisations so they can improve staff experience.   

Did you know?

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) showed that:

• three out of five working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work
• nearly two-thirds of women surveyed said they were less able to concentrate
• more than half said they experience more stress
• 30 per cent of women said they had taken sick leave because of their symptoms
• only a small minority of women said they told their managers about the real reason for taking sick leave

World Menopause Day 2022

The theme for 2022 is cognition and mood. The International Menopause Society has a range of resources including posters and toolkits to support this year’s theme:

• Brain fog and menopause: a healthcare professional's guide for decision making and counselling on cognition.
• Brain fog and memory difficulties in menopause.
• How employers can engage employees in marking menopause awareness day.

Resources to support you and your colleagues

There is an array of resources available about the menopause, designed to inform, support and raise awareness including:

• Our menopause and the workplace page which has information and offers practical guidance for NHS organisations on improving workplace environments, examples of good practice, case studies, and extensive signposting to resources.
• The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group’s (HSWG) menopause at work guidance which was developed in partnership with trade unions and management side to help organisations support the workforce, help line managers support their staff and support employees to look after themselves.
• Our health and wellbeing conversations guidance for line managers to help them hold confident, skilled and sensitive conversations with colleagues, particularly useful when discussing the menopause with those directly and indirectly affected by the menopause.
• NHS Employers' flexible working web pages which includes useful information and resources surrounding flexible working options to help conversations when supporting those impacted by the menopause.
• Watch the CIPD's let's talk menopause webinar to see how you can best support colleagues managing menopausal symptoms.
• Pausitivity's support pack containing conversation at work guidance, symptom sorted and further signposting.
• The Society of Occupational Medicine guidance on menopause and the workplace which tackles the occupational aspects of menopausal symptoms.
• A useful blog entitled What is the Non-Binary Experience of Menopause? written about the menopause from a non-binary perspective.
• A communications guide will help NHS organisations deliver successful campaigns and initiatives. 
• Acas advice, tools and resources.

Get in touch 

If your NHS organisation has examples of good practice in supporting colleagues impacted by the menopause, please email us.