Highlights
- •This qualitative study explores women’s views about the nature of supportive employer and manager behavior.
- •Three main themes include: awareness, communication skills, and actions, including training and policies.
- •Women want employers and managers to have more knowledge and awareness about the menopause.
- •Women want employers and managers to be better able to talk about it and to be able to agree appropriate work adjustments.
- •Women want employers and managers to provide staff training and to develop supportive policies.
Abstract
Objectives
To explore women’s perspectives on what employers and managers should and should not
do in relation to women going through the menopause.
Methods
An online questionnaire was used to collect qualitative data in a cross-sectional
study of working women. Three open-ended questions asked peri- and post-menopausal
women, aged 45–65 years: (i) what they thought employers could do, or should do, to
help menopausal women who may be experiencing difficult menopausal symptoms at work;
(ii) how managers should behave; and (iii) how managers should not behave towards
women going through the menopause.
Results
137 women responded to the open questions in the survey. An inductive thematic analysis
was conducted and three overarching themes emerged. Theme 1 related to employer/manager awareness, specifically to knowledge about the menopause and awareness of how the physical work environment might impact on menopausal women. Theme 2 related to employer/manager communication skills and behaviors, specifically those considered helpful and desired and those considered unhelpful and undesired. Theme 3 described employer actions, involving staff training and raising awareness, and supportive policies such as
those relating to sickness absence and flexible working hours.
Conclusions
The menopause can be difficult for some women to deal with at work, partly due to
the working environment. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore women’s
descriptions of how they would like to be treated by employers/managers, and what
would be helpful and unhelpful. The results have clear implications for communication
about menopause at work and for employer-level policy and practice.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 21, 2017
Accepted:
April 18,
2017
Received in revised form:
April 10,
2017
Received:
March 23,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
