Without , many menopausal workers are quitting their jobs

Menopause-related symptoms can be debilitating. Many workers say they lack employer programmes – and have no choice but to leave their roles.

In March 2016, Madhu Kapoor decided to resign from her position in the British government department where she'd worked for 23 years. "I loved what I did, and I was loyal and committed," says the 58-year-old, from north London. "But I wasn't coping, and I thought the best thing to do was to leave."

The mother-of-two was in her mid-40s when she first began experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. She suffered with night sweats, heart palpitations and migraines that left her feeling weak and lethargic. She struggled to focus at work, and dreaded attending the regular meetings that were part of her job as a recruitment specialist. "I lost all my confidence. I thought I wasn't good at anything," she says.

But when she shared how she was feeling with her leadership team, she says she didn't get the reassurance or emotional she was looking for. About six months after that conversation, she decided to hand in her notice. Though her family was shocked, she felt she had no choice. "I didn't know who to turn to."

The topic of the menopause is becoming less taboo in some countries, as grassroots campaigns like Menopause Mandate and Let's Talk Menopause help break down stigma and build awareness. Yet its professional impact on women (and anyone who experiences the menopause) remains largely unaddressed, say experts. 

In a late 2023 survey, UK workplace-healthcare provider SimplyHealth surveyed more than 2,000 working women aged 40 to 60. Twenty-three percent considered reg due to the impact of the menopause, and 14% are said thy are planning to hand in their notice. Although the survey's sample size is small relative to the seven-million women in the UK workforce in that age bracket, it does anecdotal evidence from women speaking out publicly about their experiences as a menopausal worker. And if the issue remains unaddressed, it could impact millions of workers who take the same decision to leave. 

Plus, even for workers who don't leave, the financial toll of sick days, unpaid leave and missed opportunities due to menopause adds up to an astronomical cost. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic estimate women's losses at $1.8bn (£1.43) per year in the US alone.

Some employers have seen the dire need to these mid-career workers – many of whom are in leadership positions – and have introduced menopause-specific programmes. Yet experts say that change needs to happen faster – or millions more workers like Kapoor may feel they have no alternative but to quit.

Nearly eight out of 10 women go through the menopause while they're still at work, according to London's Faculty of Occupational Medicine. Most will experience its onset between the ages of 40 and 58, with the transition phase in which hormones begin to fluctuate – called "perimenopause" – lasting up to eight years.

Three quarters of people will experience at least some effects during this time, with night sweats, fatigue, headaches, t pain and anxiety among the 34 medically recognised symptoms. And for, 25% of people, these symptoms will be debilitating, with a significant impact on their day-to-day lives. 

Despite how widespread the problem is, workers going through menopause report rarely feeling ed. Recent data from consultancy Korn Ferry showed only 26% of 8,000 women surveyed received help via formal workplace programs or policies; and in a 2023 survey of 11,000 female union by UK trade union Unite, four of five women reported their employer provides no at work for those with menopause symptoms.

Many workers not only lack help from formal programmes, but also feel they don't have an open avenue to even broach the subject of the menopause.

Samantha was 40 years old and working as the PR director of a manufacturing company when she first began experiencing fatigue, hot flushes and brain fog at work. At first, it didn't occur to her the symptoms could be a sign of the menopause. The topic only surfaced when she visited the doctor about the frequent, heavy periods that had sapped her energy. Throughout the next two years, the mother of two found it increasingly difficult to manage the demands of her role alongside severe symptoms. Weekly trips from London to New York, regular 05:00 starts and juggling multiple responsibilities took their toll. "I just couldn't continue at that pace," she says.

Samantha briefly considered the idea of bringing up the topic with the person designated to handle HR matters at the company, but his age and gender made it feel awkward, she says. When she finally floated the idea of a job share or bringing on an extra person to manage her workload, her CEO declined the ask. Feeling left with no other option, she handed in her notice six months later, and opted to start working as a freelance PR and marketing consultant instead.

Tamsen Fadal, a US-based journalist, author and menopause- advocate, believes the number of women who feel compelled to quit because of the menopause is under-documented and underestimated. "We have to ask ourselves when women leave the workplace at this age or during this transition, how many are not talking about why," she says. "This is a real issue."

For many people, the topic of menopause remains taboo. Fadal believes people find it particularly difficult to share their struggles and articulate the help they need from employers. "No-one wanted to talk about it from our mothers to our doctors, so how could employers">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });