Menstruation and career: How to navigate the workplace

Author: Emma Libner

Raise your hand if you've experienced one or more of the following scenarios: Have you hidden pads or tampons up your sleeve to avoid revealing that you were on your period at work? Have you fought through period pain to be able to do your job while bleeding? Or maybe you've been in the middle of a powerpoint presentation at a large meeting while you could feel yourself bleeding? (We're on a full plate here!).

In the vast majority of workplaces, menstruation is unfortunately still an overlooked aspect of working life. And that's even though a large portion of the colleagues around you have a menstrual cycle that affects them for better or worse.

Menstruating women, juggling meetings, deadlines, KPIs and demands, can often feel like they are alone in their challenges. That's why at Flow we believe it is important to focus on how to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all employees - whether they have a uterus or not.

Menstrual policies: An important step towards inclusion

Around the world, we are now seeing more examples of companies implementing menstrual policies to address the needs of their menstruating employees. Countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Spain and South Korea have already introduced policies that entitle women to “menstrual leave” – a form of leave that recognizes menstrual-related challenges such as pain and a greater need for rest during menstruation.

The point of offering menstrual leave is that employees don't have to take sick days to take care of themselves. Sick days are counted and calculated, and it can affect employment - you shouldn't be able to potentially lose your job because you're menstruating.

Even though we are a small company, here at Flow Intimates, from the very first employee, we have prioritized that all employees have the right to a monthly care day in connection with their period. We don't think it makes sense to talk about employee well-being without also including the conversation about menstruation at work (you can read much more about how your menstrual cycle can affect your mental health here LINK ).

Menstruation and working life: What a period-friendly workplace looks like

Embracing menstruation at work should be a collective effort, with both employees and management playing an active role in creating a positive environment. Here are some steps you can suggest to management or employees that can positively impact the work life of menstruating employees:

• Open communication: For starters, no employee should feel like they have to hide their period. Open communication about different needs and challenges can help create a more supportive work environment for everyone.
• Flexible working hours: Flexible working hours can be helpful for many people, regardless of whether they menstruate or not. For employees with a cycle, increased flexibility can also help with difficulty concentrating, fatigue, hot flashes, pain and other discomfort associated with their cycle.
• Period-friendly facilities: The physical environment of a workplace also plays a big role in the inclusion of employees with periods. This includes everything from access to proper toilet facilities, waste bins in the restrooms and a steady supply of menstrual products in the workplace to areas designated for breaks and rest.
• Implementing menstrual policies: As previously mentioned, management can consider implementing policies that acknowledge and support employees during their periods. However, for such a policy to have the desired effect, the workplace as a whole should ensure that all employees, regardless of their experience with menstruation, are educated and informed about menstruation, experts point out .
  Otherwise, the implementation may risk having the opposite effect.

By creating a work environment that acknowledges and supports menstruating women throughout their cycles, we can create a more just and inclusive workplace - or indeed, the world - for everyone. So let's break the taboo and make menstruation at work something we talk about and actively address in a positive and respectful way.

It's time to let bleeding and achievements go hand in hand in the workplace!