To mark World Menopause Day as part of Menopause Awareness Month, staff are sharing their experiences with menopause and how it has impacted them. You can find out about events running to mark World Menopause Day here.

Here, Jason shares his perspective on managing a member of staff who started to experience perimenopausal symptoms and what he’s learned.

What is your experience with menopause?

Until recently, my experience with menopause was very limited. My mother and her side of the family are all relatively young and not exactly the type to discuss these sorts of things with me as a man. Up until very recently, I didn’t even know perimenopause was a thing. The only experience I had with menopause was a few colleagues describing having hot flushes.

Unfortunately, we live in times where issues that primarily affect women are often underrepresented. I know it can take many trips to the GP to get proper treatment relating to these conditions, which are sometimes misdiagnosed. This is slowly changing for the better as more people decide to talk about it and share their stories, but there is still work to do.

Recently, I had a member of staff begin to experience perimenopausal symptoms. The member of staff opened up to me about some of the symptoms and how they were impacting her work. She described to me how she’d experience the hot flushes, but also intense brain fog and tiredness. This was, in turn, having a negative impact on her mental health. By this point, I had been on the line manager’s menopause training, but I had not made any connection that they may be experiencing any symptoms. This conversation really opened my eyes to the extent of the impact perimenopause and menopause can have. Throughout the conversation, I did feel a bit helpless regarding the support I could provide, though simply being aware of what was going on and having undertaken the training helped.

I really appreciated this member of staff having an open conversation with me about the menopause and the effect it was having, and hopefully I was able to provide reassurance to this member of staff that they could speak to me freely about what was happening.

How did you support this staff member?

From a managerial point of view, you always want your staff to be as happy and healthy as possible at work. While there was nothing I could do to address the symptoms directly, we discussed a plan moving forward. This included introducing flexibility when the member of staff wasn’t feeling great and any GP appointments, and an open dialogue around workloads and symptoms moving forward where we could look to reduce workload where necessary and rearrange in-office commitments if needed.

Not long after the first conversation, we were discussing the outcome of GP visits and the introduction of HRT. This had a marked positive effect on symptoms, and the member of staff was feeling much better, though the conversation is always open to how their experiences with the menopause are continuing, and the offer of support is always there.

What is your advice to other managers and staff members about menopause?

Ultimately, I think the key takeaway is that we should be having more open conversations about menopause and the effects it has. I am pleased to see that the university is making positive progress in this regard by facilitating the conversation and raising awareness. I think it is equally as important that men attend the training sessions and discussions as women. For men, it is insight into what colleagues, partners, or family may be going through or will be going through at some point in their lives. Simply being aware of menopause and its symptoms can help you better support your colleagues.

To find out more about menopause and the support available to staff visit our Sharepoint page. If you need help or support, speak to your line manager or email wellbeing@soton.ac.uk