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For HR, ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff is a top priority. In the modern workplace, catering to a diverse workforce with differing needs is part and parcel of being a good people leader. However, some taboos still exist in most workplaces – one of which is the concept of menstruation.
Likely as a result of historic gender stereotypes in the workplace, those who are suffering due to menstruation have had to have hushed conversations with HR about the issues they face, or simply try and soldier through, despite the acute pain they face, which can vary massively from person to person. In fact, a study by Circle In found that 70% of the 700 participants the company polled didn’t feel comfortable talking to their managers about it.
Yet working life has changed drastically in recent years. Whether based on a revolution in corporate morality, or simply as a result of a talent market which is progressively more and more challenging, an increasing number of workplaces are choosing to speak openly about the challenges faced by those who menstruate, and put in place policy to ensure their wellbeing.
Menstrual leave
So what does such a policy look like? A menstrual leave policy will generally involve offering staff days off when experiencing painful cramps, dizziness, migraines, diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting associated with menstrual periods, according to GOG.
In most cases, simply attempting to work through the pain is simply not feasible; presenteeism as a result of menstruation stigma accounts for an average of nine days of lost productivity per person each year, according to a 2019 Radboud University survey of 32,748 individuals living in the Netherlands.
“Menstrual Leave fosters inclusiveness by accepting that there are biological differences in the workplace. By giving additional days off for those experiencing menstrual period pain, we acknowledge these symptoms are real,” a recent statement by games development firm GOG reads, discussing its decision to introduce such a policy.
The games studio, which is known for making videogames such as The Witcher and Cyberpunk, decided to introduce menstrual leave following a meeting of its internal advocacy group “Women of GOG”, according to a report by Axios, in which participants noted how severe issues surrounding menstruation can be.
Breaking the taboo
For firms looking to follow suit and introduce a menstrual leave policy, the first key step in the process is breaking down the concept of such issues being a taboo. Similarly to health problems brought about by menopause – another issues that has in recent years seen a positive step toward affirmative action – raising general awareness around the issues those who menstruate can face is a big step into easing them.
Workplace culture specialist, Kelly Brown Johnson, weighed in on the issues that can arise when menstruation-related issues impact health and wellbeing at work without being addressed in a recent LinkedIn post, in which she shared her own experiences.
“When I had my period, before I finally got a hysterectomy. The only way to control some of my symptoms was to take extremely powerful prescription painkillers, which drugged me up so much I could not safely function.
“When I did go to work on the prescription drugs – because I was not allowed to take any more sick days – I would pass out (and was then transported to hospital by ambulance, and one time, my husband literally picked me up at work and carried me home), or in one case, I forgot an important task and was written up for forgetting. I was essentially intoxicated by the medication and should not have even been driving. But it was either that or lose my job.
“I didn't feel like I had a choice and no one believed my symptoms were so severe until I passed out on the floor in front of them. Even then, nothing changed at the workplaces and I had to hope and pray my period fell on one of my days off the next month,” she noted.
Spain’s menstrual leave law
Spain’s Government recently announced that the nation would soon see a huge change to the perception of menstrual leave as a valid reason for time off. A new draft bill, reported by the BBC, looks set to entitle women to a total of three days off per month if menstrual issues cause an inability to work. This, the bill recommends, could be increased to five if needed.
The law would stipulate that three-day sick leave for painful periods would be allowed with a doctor's note, with the five-day extension working on a temporary basis for those with particularly intense or incapacitating pain.
If the bill does go through, it would not only be the first of its kind in Europe, but also a key milestone in the progression of such laws. In some aspects, the law could work as a case study for other nations, to mark the data-driven benefits. Could the UK follow suit? Only time will tell.
Alex