What is perimenopause/menopause?

Perimenopause is when you might experience symptoms before your periods have stopped and can last several years. Menopause is reached when you haven’t had a period for twelve months.

Although the journey varies from person to person, according to a 2019 survey, 60 per cent of women feel the perimenopause/menopause has negatively impacted their work life. Common symptoms experienced include hot flushes, disturbed sleep and anxiety. Combined, these symptoms can often impact a woman’s ability to be at work, her confidence while working and quality of life.

Women going through the perimenopause/menopause also face some common challenges in the workplace, for example when office temperatures can’t easily be controlled, as well as difficulties multi-tasking and learning new things. As many as 70 per cent of women said they either hadn’t, or wouldn’t, disclose how their symptoms made them feel in case it impacted their career or affected their relationship with their colleagues.

A further challenging symptom of the perimenopause/menopause described by many women is ‘brain fog’, the people who experience this describe difficulties in remembering things, such as where they have left something, forgetting or muddling the dates and times for important meetings and difficulty in concentrating. When experienced together these symptoms are often distressing and can make work life harder, adding to feelings of anxiety and a loss of confidence.

What P3 are doing

To mark World Menopause Day and this year’s theme, Cognition and Memory Difficulties in Menopause—more commonly known as brain fog (see above)—P3 is proud to share a new Menopause Policy and support the wellbeing of colleagues experiencing symptoms.

We have recently signed the Wellbeing of Women Menopause Pledge.

By signing this pledge, we have committed to:

• Recognise menopause is an issue in the workplace and women need support.
• Talk openly, positively and respectfully about the menopause.
• Actively support and inform our colleagues affected by the menopause.

Our new Menopause Policy can be accessed HERE via the P3 Portal, and don’t forget there is access to professional counselling support and GP advice via Paycare. Most importantly, P3 are committed to ensuring managers and colleagues are familiar with the symptoms and impacts of the perimenopause/menopause.

What can I do if I am struggling with symptoms of the perimenopause/menopause?

Regular health check-ups, talking to your doctor, making sure you can get a good night’s sleep, eating a healthy diet and exercise can all help to improve wellbeing during the perimenopause/menopause. Be sure to speak to your GP to discuss your symptoms if you feel you need extra support or if you are under 45.

If you feel you are struggling at work you should talk to your manager, or, if you prefer, you can contact HR. Sometimes it can be hard to start a conversation about something so personal, so you may want to make a few notes before the conversation about what you are experiencing and what support you need.

You might also like to take a look at some of the resources available below.

How can I support someone experiencing perimenopause/menopause?

If someone tells you they are going through the menopause you can help by showing understanding for the symptoms they are experiencing and how they are affecting them, offering support—for example, checking a piece of work—asking how they are, encouraging them to talk and making sure they feel supported as best as possible.

Useful Further Resources

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause/

https://www.themenopausecharity.org/menopause/

https://www.imsociety.org/for-women/videos/#wmd2022p

https://www.paycare.org/

https://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/your-health/menopause

https://www.imsociety.org/education/world-menopause-day/#toolkit

Top: Celebrating Black History Month at our Yiewsley Navigator in Hillingdon.

Middle left: A fantastic pop-up café event in Coventry.

Middle right: Breast Cancer Awareness ‘Wear it Pink’ fundraiser at RPT.

Bottom left: Pool games and lunch in Wolverhampton with people we work alongside.

Bottom right: Charlotte Greenley kindly donated some brand new swanky board games to everyone at Arbury Lodge.