Could 'menstrual leave' change the workplace?
April 28, 2022
We’re expected to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and go to work, when we’re literally losing blood – Chloe Caldwell, Author, The Red Zone: A Love Story
The gist:
This benefit which does exist for employees at some companies, “allows workers who experience painful menstrual or menopause symptoms options for remote work and a set number of paid-leave days every year, on top of federally mandated paid vacation or sick leave.”
It makes sense + there’s evidence to back up that this is a workplace issue.
“Presenteeism—the problem of workers' being on the job but, because of illness or other medical conditions, not fully functioning—accounts for an average of nine days of lost productivity per person each year, according to a 2019 Radboud University survey of 32,748 women.
Mary Crooks, executive director of the Victorian Women’s Trust, in Melbourne, “introduced 12 days of menstrual and menopause leave at her gender-equality agency in 2016, after running a survey of roughly 3,500 people with periods the year before, which showed the number one concern for respondents (58%) was finding time to rest.”
The organisation [sic] has since “published a menstrual leave template, alongside other resources, to help others across all sectors do the same.”
Other employers who are reporting “seeing benefits from introducing menstrual leave,” are, Kristy Chong, the CEO of Modibodi, a period-underwear company based in Balmain, Australia. She “has no regrets since introducing 10 days of paid period leave for her staff in May last year. She says trust among managers and workers has increased, employees seem more productive than before and the benefit has helped position Modibodi as an attractive place to work.”
“By supporting women with these policies,” she says, “you empower them to actually want to be at work and to put their best forward.”
What about the costs to Employers?
Marian Baird, “a professor of gender and employment relations at the University of Sydney’s Business School, says companies will likely be paid back in spades for introducing a policy. “If you do provide the right [services], women's productivity increases, their commitment and loyalty increases, and there are benefits to the firm.”
The increase in “companies offering voluntary menstrual leave policies is a good sign".” says Crooks. And Baird “thinks moves like the ones in Australia can have positive ripple effects on a global scale, too.”
This is especially the case as millennial and Gen Z workers with periods are increasingly more outspoken than their forebears, and businesses facing labour shortages are looking “to offer policies that can attract and retain smart, young female workers”.
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