18 May 2021

The menopause at work: guidance for line managers

Help your team succeed by supporting women through the menopause

Electric fan
In partnership with Bupa

Menopause shouldn’t be a taboo, and everyone should feel they can have a conversation with their line manager, especially when they need guidance and advice. But how confident do you think a member of your team would feel to talk to you about the menopause? Research from Bupa has shown that almost a million women have left their job because of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and increased anxiety, while others are forced to take long-term absence from work to manage symptoms.

Often a few simple changes to the working environment can make a world of difference – even just talking about the menopause openly can reduce the impact of some symptoms and enable people to continue performing well in their roles. Line managers play a vital role in supporting colleagues with menopausal symptoms and so the CIPD and Bupa have created a guide for line managers so that they can:

  • understand and reduce the barriers that could potentially prevent a colleague going through the menopause transition from performing and/or developing to their full potential 
  • identify appropriate workplace changes or adjustments to support team members and help them thrive at work 
  • foster an inclusive working environment in which everyone is treated fairly. 
The menopause at work: a guide for line managers offers practical advice on what a manager needs to know about the menopause to effectively support their team.

Download the guide

Managers play a vital role in determining the health, wellbeing and engagement of their team. Research (funded by the CIPD and led by Affinity Health at Work) identified five key behavioural areas for line managers to support the health, wellbeing and engagement of those who work for them:

  • Being open, fair and consistent 
  • Handling conflict and people management issues
  • Providing knowledge, clarity and guidance 
  • Building and sustaining relationships
  • Supporting development
Based on these key behavioural areas the CIPD has created a range of support materials to help you adopt a management approach that supports good health, wellbeing and engagement in your team by helping you explore and develop your management capability. Designed for anyone who manages people, the guidance and exercises are quick and easy to use. They can help you save time and get better results by managing people well – all of which is good for your own wellbeing as well as that of your team.

Bupa Global & UK is one of the UK’s leading healthcare specialists, providing health insurance and operating dental practices, care homes, health clinics and London’s Cromwell Hospital.

Bupa Health Clinics has 45 centres across the UK offering customers health assessments, GP appointments and women’s health services. They also offer a wide range of remote appointments.

In 2019, Bupa Health Clinics upskilled a percentage of their GPs in menopause care. Since then, the business has launched a Menopause Plan for both consumers and business customers, giving women 45 minutes with a menopause trained GP, a further 15 minute follow up appointment 12 weeks later and ongoing 24/7 support through their Anytime HealthLine nurses.

Top