Menopause: Working smarter for everyone in the health and social care workplace.

The second blog in this spotlight series on menopause comes from Dr Camille Cronin, Professor of Nursing in the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Essex and specialises in the impacts of menopause in the workplace.

Menopause is no longer a taboo topic and is discussed on national platforms, in boardrooms, and increasingly across NHS trusts and care providers. Yet, for many working long shifts under pressure, the lived experience of menopause remains invisible, unsupported, and misunderstood (Cronin et al 2023). With nearly 80% of the NHS workforce being women, many are aged 45 and over, menopause is a workforce issue (GOV.UK 2025), a wellbeing issue for work and health research (NIHR 2025) and a patient safety issue (NHS England 2022). This is timely, some would even say, tardy but presents an opportunity, as the Work Right campaign and other menopause-friendly initiatives gain traction, for organisations to implement inclusive, evidence-based approaches that support staff, improve retention, and create healthier, sustainable workplaces in a time when resources are constrained (Wellbeing of Women 2025). These campaigns encourage employers to act, such as implementing menopause policies, providing training, and fostering open communication about menopause (Rees et al 2021).

Why Menopause Support Matters Now

The menopause transition is something we all may experience, as the individual or supporting a colleague in the workplace. From an individual experience, it can bring a wide range of symptoms such as sleep disruption, anxiety, cognitive changes often called “brain fog”, hot flushes, joint pain, and more (NICE NG23:2024). For staff working in high-pressure, people-facing roles, these symptoms can significantly affect performance, confidence, decision-making and safety (Cronin et al 2023, Cronin et 2024, Terzic et al 2024). The Fawcett Society in 2022 reported 1 in 10 women leaving their jobs due to menopause symptoms, and many more have considered it (Dalingwater et al 2025). For the healthcare workforce, this is not just about comfort; it’s about keeping experienced, highly skilled clinicians and care staff in the workforce. At a time when NHS vacancy rates are significantly high (over 110,000 vacancies in England alone), and social care struggles with recruitment and retention, menopause cannot be a reason women feel they must step back or leave.

Work Right Campaign

The Work Right campaign (Wellbeing of Women 2025) calls for workplaces to treat menopause as an occupational health concern and to embed it in workplace health strategies recommending all employers:

Normalise conversation about menopause.
Educate managers and leaders to offer informed support.
Review policies and practices to ensure they are menopause inclusive.
Offer reasonable adjustments for those experiencing symptoms.

These are not radical demands but are practical, person-centred steps backed by research and health guidance (NICE NG23: 2024, Rees et al 2021). These are relevant to the NHS and social care settings where staff already operate under exceptional physical and emotional demands and require support with the discomfort of menopause (Cronin et al 2024).

Challenges on the Ground

Implementing menopause-inclusive policy in a healthcare organisation is not without challenges and dealing with:

Workforce shortages and burnout.
High levels of sickness absence and presenteeism.
Financial constraints limiting staff wellbeing programmes.
Lack of menopause education in leadership and management roles, human resources and occupational health.

In these environments, staff may feel unable to ask for support especially those in junior roles, bank staff, or from communities where menopause is stigmatised (Safan et al 2024). When support is informal or inconsistent, it often depends on the goodwill of individual managers rather than embedded sustainable practices (Cronin et al 2024).

From Inclusive policy to implementation

Menopause is not a single experience and intersects with ethnicity, gender identity, disability, age, and socio-economic status. Black women may experience different symptom patterns but are less likely to seek help or be heard. Trans and non-binary staff may experience menopause-related symptoms but face barriers in disclosure due to fear of discrimination. Staff with long-term conditions or neurodiversity may find menopausal symptoms exacerbate existing challenges and maybe less likely to seek help. An inclusive policy ensures everyone has access to support. Employers have several ways in which to implement for an inclusive menopause approach that is meaningful and manageable.

In implementation, ensure menopause is explicitly referenced in all wellbeing policies and guidance. Align with CIPD guidance, RCN Menopause Guidance, and NHS England’s Menopause and the Workplace toolkit. These link to occupational health and equality strategies that should be embedded in health and wellbeing policies and available to everyone.
Educate line managers as they are the gateway to day-to-day support, and need to be equipped with confidence and clarity. Evidence suggests managers do not have this training and not enough time to attend (Cronin et al 2024). A range of options should be available for organisation to maintain sustainable models of practice from short, evidence-based eLearning modules, events or webinars, or facilitated case-based discussions (Alzueta et al 2024).
Offer reasonable adjustments like flexible start times, access to fans, water, uniform adaptations, and rest areas to take regular breaks which can make a big difference. However, evidence suggests that many feel ashamed and often scared to seek help (Cronin et al 2023, Alzueta et al 2024); and crucially, staff need to feel safe to make a request without fear of judgement.
The lived experience of women in co-designed workplace solutions will encourage representation and diversity (Cronin et al 2025). Create staff-led menopause networks or working groups to co-produce solutions. What works for a ward nurse might be different for a paramedic or homecare worker, and each organisation will have different needs and challenges, and therefore a person-centred approach to menopause care is required.
Measure Impact and understand your organisation and who works in it. This is key to supporting staff. Use staff surveys, exit interviews, feedback or sickness data to understand menopause-related attrition or distress. However, cautionary steps are needed as the healthcare workforce can be over surveyed (West and Wallback 2025) and subsequently limited information may be collected. Thus, collecting a range of data on the organisation is required to understand and help it (Cronin et al 2024, Asiamah et al 2024a).

Case Examples in Practice

Larger organisations like Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have Menopause Champions, trained staff who offer peer support and signposting. This approach opens the conversation and offers a visible route for help. Other organisations may have Menopause Cafés, support sessions and manager sessions to integration menopause awareness in to the workplace. While others like Norfolk and Waveney ICS have gone further and implemented Health and Wellbeing Passports for all employees taking an individualised approach for the health of their employees.

However smaller organisations, community colleagues and voluntary sectors must not be forgotten, and consideration must be given in how to partner and support with other healthcare workers and provide access to shared resources. When working together in health and social care, with the majority being women, someone will be experiencing the menopause journey.

Workforce Investment

In summary creating menopause-informed workplaces is not just about mitigating risk or ticking equality boxes. It’s about investing in the wellbeing and longevity of the workforce (Asiamah et al 2024b). The cost of inaction is high: loss of experienced staff, lost talent, diminished morale, and avoidable sickness absence. Even in times of austerity, there are steps that can be taken. Small, meaningful changes like recognising the issue, listening to staff, and adjusting environments can be a catalyst for wider cultural change working right for menopause is working smart.

References

Alzueta, E., Menghini, L., Volpe, L., Baker, F. C., Garnier, A., Sarrel, P. M., & de Zambotti, M. (2024). Navigating menopause at work: a preliminary study about challenges and support systems. Menopause, 31(4), 258-265

Asiamah, N., Cronin, C., Abbott, J. E., & Smith, S. (2024a). Interactions of depression, anxiety, and sleep quality with menopausal symptoms on job satisfaction among middle-aged health workers in England: a STROBE-based analysis. Human Resources for Health, 22(1), 1-11.

Asiamah N, Aladenola OB, Cronin C, Sepp L, O’Callaghan K. (2024b) Effects of physical activity on menopausal symptoms, psychosomatic factors and well-being among working women in England: A path analysis. Women’s Health;20. doi:10.1177/17455057241290370

Cronin, C., Donevant, S., Hughes, K.-a., Kaunonen, M., Marcussen, J. and Wilson, R. (2025), Amplifying Women’s Voices in Menopause Research: The Importance of Inclusive Perspectives. Health Expectations, 28: e70163. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70163

Cronin, C., Abbott, J., Asiamah, N., & Smyth, S. (2024). Menopause at work—An organisation‐based case study. Nursing Open, 11(1), e2058.

Cronin, C., Bidwell, G., Carey, J., Donevant, S., Hughes, K. A., Kaunonen, M., Marcussen, J. Wilson, R. (2023). Exploring digital interventions to facilitate coping and discomfort for nurses experiencing the menopause in the workplace: An international qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 79(10), 3760-377

Dalingwater, L., & Winett, L. (2025). “A Duty of Care”: National Policy Discourse Regarding Menopause, Well-Being, and the Workplace. The Journal of Aging and Social Change, 15(1), 53

GOV.UK (2025) 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future. Online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future/fit-for-the-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england-executive-summary

Hardy C, Griffiths A, Thorne E, Hunter M. (2019) Tackling the taboo: talking menopause-related problems at work. Int J Workplace Health Management; 12:28-38. doi: 10.1108/IJWHM-03-2018-0035

NHS England (2022) Supporting our NHS people through menopause: guidance for line managers and colleagues. Online: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/supporting-our-nhs-people-through-menopause-guidance-for-line-managers-and-colleagues

NIHR (2025) Work and Health Research Initiative, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Online:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/work-and-health-research-initiative

Rees, M., Bitzer, J., Cano, A., Ceausu, I., Chedraui, P., Durmusoglu, F., … & Lambrinoudaki, I. (2021). Global consensus recommendations on menopause in the workplace: a European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) position statement. Maturitas, 151, 55-62.

Safwan, N., Saadedine, M., Shufelt, C. L., Kapoor, E., Kling, J. M., Chaudhry, R., & Faubion, S. S. (2024). Menopause in the workplace: challenges, impact, and next steps. Maturitas, 185, 107983.

Terzic, S., Bapayeva, G., Kadroldinova, N., Sarría-Santamera, A., Gusmanov, A., Sanchez-Anguiano, A., … & Terzic, M. (2024). Association between menopause and occupational burnout in healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study. Critical Public Health, 34(1), 1-16.

West M., Wallbank S (2025) What does the NHS Staff Survey 2024 really tell us? The King’s Fund, Leadership and Workforce, 21 March 2025, Online: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/blogs/nhs-staff-survey-2024-tell-us

Wellbeing of Women (2025) Menopause Workplace Pledge and Toolkit. Online:

https://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/menopause-workplace-pledge/

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