How to talk to your boss about menopause

Each year more than 2 million women in the United States reach menopause. Though 1 in 3 female workers going through menopause have missed work in the past 12 months due to menopause

symptoms, according to new research from AARP, only 22 percent of employers offer menopause-specific benefits. The most common reasons companies don’t provide accommodations: Employees have

not asked for them.   Some advocates for women’s health care say that needs to change. They say women should not suffer silently at work, and companies should provide more support. “Women

facing challenging menopause symptoms affecting productivity should consider open communication with their managers,” says Lauren Winans, founder and chief executive of Next Level Benefits,

a human resources consulting firm based in Pittsburgh.  If menopause symptoms are hindering your productivity, here’s what you need to know. SHOULD YOU TELL YOUR BOSS YOU’RE IN MENOPAUSE?

When it comes to illnesses and other medical conditions, employers understand that they have certain obligations to provide resources and accommodations that employees may need, says Tracy

M. Billows, a partner and labor and employment lawyer with global practice Seyfarth Shaw. However, menopause is not considered an illness or disability, Billows says. “What employers are

going to have to navigate is understanding that even if something doesn’t rise to the level of a serious health condition as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act, there still may be

an expectation for some sort of accommodation or consideration for what someone’s going through.” Though menopause is not a disorder or ailment, for many women it may feel like one.

According to the AARP study, hot flashes, mood swings and fatigue are among the most common symptoms, while difficulty concentrating, headaches and forgetfulness can also affect a woman’s

quality of life. For many women, menopause is a taboo subject of discussion, particularly in the workplace. Yet some career experts see that changing as workplaces focus more on the

well-being of their employees.   Jen Mahone Rightler,  a human resources strategist and founder of Elements2Inclusion, a boutique diversity and inclusion firm in Flower Mound, Texas,

recently raised the topic at a leadership event of whether corporate leaders would like open conversations and training around menopause. “Almost every hand was raised to say that they would

love to discuss it,” she says, including the 25 to 30 percent of attendees who were men. Many of them had questions themselves, she says, “because they were supporting a spouse or partner

who was either going through menopause or has been through a menopausal stage.”