The Business Case For Designing Menopause-Enabled Workspaces

Women in menopause face a variety of challenges to their productivity that can be eased with good workplace design.

Photo Courtesy of MillerKnoll

Why menopause-friendly workspace designs are smart for employees—and your bottom line.

Despite the fact that roughly half the world’s population will experience menopause, it remains a highly stigmatized workplace experience. The silence has real consequences, as in the U.S. alone, menopause-related symptoms are estimated to account for $1.8 billion in lost productivity each year due to missed workdays. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) notes that 13% of women have left their jobs because of menopausal symptoms, while an additional 15% have contemplated doing so. Thankfully, dialogue about creating menopause-enabled workplaces is increasing, and one key consideration not to be overlooked is design of our physical workspaces.

Understanding the Challenges

Effective workplace design for menopause starts with understanding the experience itself. The symptoms include not only hot flashes, but joint discomfort, fatigue, sleep disruption, and dozens of other symptoms that can be unpredictable and deeply affect daily work. In particular, the challenge of “brain fog” can be harmful to a person’s productivity and work experience.

Kate Usher, Founder of Menopause in Business, recently shared that brain fog is a term that can refer to a variety of issues affecting cognition during menopause. “Instead of giving it this lovely, cute, and cuddly name of brain fog, we have to understand exactly what this is and how it impacts women.” She notes that anxiety, sleep deprivation, headaches, and memory loss can disrupt a woman’s ability to function in meetings or when doing focused work. “All of us have gone up the stairs to go get something and get to the top of the stairs and go, ‘Oh my goodness me, why have I come upstairs?’ But during menopause that can be far more extreme, and it can be very frequent indeed.”

Additionally, menopause should be understood in the larger context of perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause life stages and symptoms can affect women over many years. Usher notes, “We have those three phases, and there’s no defined path. So, every woman is different. There are over 40 symptoms here that cover not only physical aspects of our life, but cognitive aspects of our life. In fact, they can affect every single aspect of our life, our relationships, both at home and in the workplace.”

Yet, with thoughtful policies, culture, and improved workplace design, organizations can better support employees navigating these natural life stages.

Redesigning the Physical Workplace

Physical space plays a powerful role in promoting people’s wellbeing—and that includes how workplaces accommodate menopause-related symptoms. To address the 40+ symptoms associated with menopause, employers must be intentional about the types of spaces they provide employees and the way those spaces are designed.

To address joint pain, movement and ergonomic considerations are important. For computer-based work, height adjustable desks and ergonomic chairs provide employees greater control over how their bodies are supported. Hot flashes and temperature discomfort can be mitigated by desktop fans and chairs with breathable materials rather than vinyl or other non-breathable materials.

Comfort and control matter, particularly for those experiencing anxiety, sleep deprivation, and other cognitive challenges associated with brain fog. Outdoor spaces can ease these challenges or designing indoor spaces with natural light and plant life helps to bring the outdoors in—a concept known as biophlic design.

Providing quiet zones, focus areas, and wellness spaces gives employees valuable alternatives to bustling open offices, offering immediate relief. These spaces also communicate that employees don’t have to stay home to manage the cognitive and emotional challenges of menopause.

Beneficial Spaces for All

Women in menopause aren’t the only ones facing challenges such as anxiety, sleep loss, joint pain, headaches, or memory loss. These conditions can affect many others within the workforce who also benefit from similar workplace improvements.

Thus, the goal of menopause-enabled workplace design shouldn’t solely be to help women, but to intentionally design spaces to promote wellbeing and improve productivity for all employees. This approach to creating more adaptive, inclusive, and productive workplaces can help every employee, at every stage of life, to thrive.