Menopause Awareness Day: Credera’s Menopause Policy and support for breaking the workplace taboo

This Menopause Awareness Day, we are pleased to officially launch our Menopause Policy here at Credera.

Our Menopause Policy sets out the guidelines for us to provide the right support for those managing menopausal symptoms at work whilst listing the help available to people before, during, and after the menopause. This support includes options for flexible working, mental health support, and leave. Most importantly, the policy provides information and guidance for everyone - in particular, those with management responsibilities - on how they can best support people going through a common but not often talked about transition.

Menopause Awareness Day October 18th is recognised around the world as Menopause Awareness Day. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. A recent CIPD study showed that the majority of working women experiencing the menopause say it has a negative impact on them at work, with the most common side effects being reduced concentration and increased stress. Traditionally, the menopause is seen as something experienced by women between the ages of 45-55 – however, women and trans people can experience it earlier due to ‘premature menopause’ or surgery. It is important to recognise that not all people experiencing menopausal symptoms, including peri- and post-menopausal symptoms, will feel comfortable talking about this. Our commitment to diversity We are committed to adapting the environment to embrace the individual at Credera. As greater proportions of the working population experience menopausal symptoms, it is important for us to remain open on the topic and make what can be an uncomfortable experience as comfortable as possible at work. We aim to achieve this by continuing to raise awareness and offer our support where possible. In addition to our policy and practices around menopause, our Gender Diversity Network and Wellbeing teams have collaborated to share information and experiences of menopause to all genders. As an example, we will be holding an international World Menopause Day talk with our US colleagues where we will share the experiences of women at a variety of different stages of menopause. Outside of these events, we aim to raise awareness and share knowledge about menopause with all of our staff , offering our support where possible. We appreciate that menopause can be challenging and we invite anyone impacted to talk to our trained Mental Health First Aiders or their Appraiser. These actions reinforce our commitment to diversity at Credera. We hope that they help colleagues feel comfortable in talking about menopausal symptoms at work and allow employees to make the necessary adjustments to make the transition as comfortable as possible.