Up to a third of women will experience severe menopausal symptoms, and it’s in the workplace that they can be hardest to manage. Not only are they disruptive, but symptoms also start around the time most women are approaching the peak of their careers—between the ages of 45 and 55. “The menopause reflects that we become low in oestrogen,” says Dr Heather Currie, an associate specialist gynaecologist and the founder of Menopause Matters. “There are oestrogen receptors throughout the body, so the symptoms are incredibly varied and how each woman responds to the lack of oestrogen varies enormously: whether or not she’s having symptoms; what type of symptoms and how long they go on for; how severe they are; and most, importantly, the impact on her life. “The classic symptoms, which 80% of women will experience, are flushes and sweats, but there’s huge variation in the severity and the impact. Other symptoms might be joint aches, mood changes, disturbed sleep, anxiety, irritability and low mood.” Despite how common it is, women can feel embarrassed talking about menopause in the workplace, fearing they may be stigmatised or misunderstood. And many employers are failing to provide sufficient support, which has implications on their ability to retain and attract a sizable pool of well-trained and experienced talent.If you’re not already having a conversation with your clients about women’s health in the workplace, now is the time to start—especially if you want to support them in delivering a well-rounded employee wellbeing strategy. What is the impact on your clients?Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that two-thirds (67%) of working women between the ages of 40 and 60 with experience of menopausal symptoms said they have had a mostly negative impact on them at work.Of those who were negatively affected at work:79% said they were less able to concentrate68% said they experienced more stressnearly half (49%) said they felt less patient with clients and colleagues, and46% felt less physically able to carry out work tasksOver half of respondents were able to think of a time when they were unable to go into work due to their menopause symptoms.According to research by the menopause app Stella, 65% of women do not feel supported by their doctors, 40% have six or more symptoms that impact their work and 33%—that’s a third of the women surveyed—have resigned or considered quitting.“Menopause often hits at a critical career stage and when responsibilities at home can also be challenging,” says Andrea Berchowitz, co-founder of Stella. “In the UK, about 14 million lost working days and a million premature career exits can be attributed to menopause.”Businesses that fail to retain employees who are struggling with menopause at work are potentially losing highly skilled, experienced people. Not only is this bad for business in terms of turnover and loss of talent, it also has an obvious impact on gender equity at senior levels.“The average age of a new CEO and the average age of menopause is 51,” notes Andrea. “Of America's 500 largest companies, only 52 have female CEOs. The data for other countries is similar and, in some cases, worse. Better care for women experiencing menopause at work is obviously not the only tool we have to increase the number of women in leadership roles, but there is no doubt it is a vastly underutilised one.”How do you start talking to your clients about menopause?Providing the right support for menopause in the workplace is a key priority for many organisations and one that is closely tied to existing benefits strategies. “It’s important for women to know, in their forties even, to look out for changes, because sometimes these changes creep up on us and people often don’t have that understanding about the hormonal background to it,” says Dr Currie. A great place to start the conversation is by sharing relevant resources with your clients, such as Davina McCall on how to make menopause matter at work, or this handy checklist, 10 simple ways to support menopause in your workplace.Next, understand what menopause support is included within group risk schemes and educate your clients on what benefits for female employees they already have access to. Here are some of the value-added services that will be particularly relevant:24/7 Virtual GP: If menopause symptoms are impacting an individual’s wellbeing, having quick and easy access to medical advice will be a real benefit. EAP Service: Mental health support can be a great help to those going through menopause.Healthy lifestyle benefits: As Davina touched on, anything that promotes a healthy lifestyle will also help those going through menopause. To go above and beyond in supporting those affected, your clients might be interested in the following services which are all available through YuLife.Sleep Cycle: Sleeplessness is a common symptom of menopause so access to this app will promote an individual's wellbeing and productivity at workA specialist menopause app such as Stella: To provide expert advice and allow indivudals to create a custom 12-week plan.Meditation: Research has shown that daily meditation can help with the physical side of menopause, such as easing hot flushes.Often, the support which will be of most use to employees experiencing menopause in the workplace will be beneficial for others too. Not only will it help your clients attract and retain women at the peak of their careers, it will also enable people from a diverse range of groups to thrive in their organisationsHow can businesses support menopause in the workplace?In our eBook, we hear from Andrea Berchowitz, menopause expert and co-founder of the Stella app, who shares her top tips for employers looking to create a more menopause-friendly working environment. Download here to share with your clients.