Dr Louise Newson answers the question ‘how does menopause affect women at work?’. #12 in a series of videos with sign language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am Dr. Louise Newson. I am a GP and Menopause Expert in West Midlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can affect people really in so many ways. Up to 10% of women actually consider giving up work because of the menopause and I think that could be an underestimation. Because of the symptoms that you can experience \u2013 especially the concentration and the energy symptoms that can really affect and like I said before, the lack of confidence that you have \u2013 so lots of people really struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past they might have given up work \u2013 retired earlier\u2026but it\u2019s harder\u2026the pensions are different. And also as women we work very hard to get to certain stage in our career and to give it up because of menopause is very hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other thing is as a GP it is very difficult when people want time off work because of their menopausal symptoms\u2026to actually write \u201cmenopausal symptoms\u201d on a sick note isn\u2019t good and it can cause a lot of problems with the employers because lots of people don\u2019t understand how severe menopausal symptoms can be. So for a woman to explain to her employer that they are menopausal just gets a bit of a laugh and maybe not taken seriously. So maybe they want to have something like \u201canxiety and depression\u201d written on their sick note but then that again deals with collusion and their employer might think \u201cOh my goodness! I don\u2019t want someone who is depressed and anxious working for me\u201d and it builds up barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I think it\u2019s very hard. It\u2019s not just a taboo for women; it\u2019s a taboo for people in general and when I talk to people and say I am really passionate about the menopause\u2026 I deal with women and help women, lots of people laugh and say \u201cWhy would you do that?\u201d and it\u2019s so interesting because it makes a massive difference if you can help these women in a very difficult and a very vulnerable time of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n