Workplace features to ease menstruation and menopause symptoms

Motionspot, a design specialist, has surveyed 2,000 office workers who experience menstruation or menopause and has partnered with the Women in Work Summit to explore and raise the profile of the topic further.

Useful features

The research highlighted that 48% of respondents lack access to the most useful feature to manage pain and discomfort at work, that is, fresh air. The most attractive workplace features noted by those completing the survey included the following:

• Fresh air.
• Comfortable desk seating.
• Natural light.
• A private room to decompress.
• Temperature controlled spaces.
• More focus rooms with less distractions.

The most common features that were not available included having a place to lie down, a hot bath or shower and a dark or dimly lit space.

Simple to implement

The results revealed that while many of the changes were relatively simple to implement, they were absent from a significant number of workplaces.

Impact on mood and concentration

The research also revealed that hormones associated with menstruation had the greatest impact. These included conditions such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Such negative effects of hormonal fluctuations impacted on matters such as mood, concentration and motivation at work.

Need support with your HR?

Our support means you can focus on education, while we take care of your organisation’s HR needs.

We have a wide range of staff management services to choose from, offering complete flexibility for your school. Get in touch for a free consultation about how we can help you.

The health, welfare and safety section of our CEFMi website contains model policies (including a menopause policy), information and related model letters and forms. Get a free trial of CEFMi – a comprehensive resource for school managers containing over 7,000 pages of text, including over 170 policies written specifically for schools.