The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) recently surveyed over 2,000 women in the UK, aged 18-60, who currently or have previously had their period while being employed.
The goal of this report? To understand the experiences of menstruating employees and how employers can foster a supportive environment in the workplace.
The Impact of Menstruation Symptoms
- 79% of respondents say they have experienced menstruation symptoms.
- 15% say they have a menstrual health condition such as endometriosis, PCOS or PMDD.
- Around 7 in 10 employees (69%) who have experienced symptoms from menstruation report that they have had a negative impact at work.
- More than half (53%) had been unable to go to work at some point because of their symptoms.
- 12% of respondents say their menstrual symptoms have had a negative impact on their career.
The Need for Support
CIPD’s survey findings indicate that most employees don’t feel that they are supported within their organization in relation to their period.
- Just over 1 in 10 (12%) of employees report that their organization provides support for menstruation and menstrual health, for example in the form of a policy, guidance or training.
- 1 in 5 didn’t know if support was available but two-thirds (67%) said there is none.
- The most common type of support is free period products (18%) followed by paid sick leave (15%) and paid time off for medical appointments (12%). Any other type of support is even less commonly available.
- People are much more likely to feel supported by colleagues than by their employer or manager (41% compared with 21% and 26%, respectively).
- Overall, 3% say they have left a job due to a lack of workplace support in relation to their menstrual symptoms, while 5% are considering leaving.
