One in four women considers leaving her job due to menopausal symptoms — and one in ten actually does. With 70% of women experiencing symptoms during the transition out of their reproductive years, the impact on the workforce is both widespread and underestimated. From sleep disturbances and anxiety to brain fog, joint pain, and mood changes, these symptoms can quietly, yet profoundly, impair performance and productivity. Still, the topic remains largely unspoken.
Forward-thinking employers are starting to recognise that supporting women through menopause isn’t just an act of empathy — it’s a strategic investment.
This stage of life should represent a pinnacle in a woman’s career — a time when she brings decades of experience, emotional intelligence, and leadership maturity to the table. With children often more independent, many women are finally positioned to take on larger roles, lead teams, or pursue long-held ambitions. But instead of flourishing, many are grappling with a cocktail of brain fog, insomnia, anxiety, and physical discomfort that makes the daily grind feel insurmountable. The result? Businesses risk losing some of their most seasoned and capable professionals just as they reach their prime. It’s a quiet but costly talent drain that no competitive organisation can afford to overlook.
With over 60% of today’s workforce made up of women, it’s clear that the traditional design of work — often built around outdated assumptions — needs to evolve.
We must begin to craft environments that acknowledge and support the biological transitions that come with age, for both women and men. While menopause has its own set of challenges, men, too, experience hormonal changes. Testosterone levels decline gradually — typically around 1% per year after age 30 – and more rapidly in those under chronic stress. Between 30% and 70% of men report symptoms ranging from low energy and mood shifts to muscle loss and poor sleep and libido. These changes, if unsupported, can quietly erode performance, relationships and wellbeing.
While some individuals breeze through these life stages, most experience changes in vitality just as their careers demand the most from them. In a competitive job market, this misalignment can cause significant loss. Not long ago, postpartum women were expected to express milk in toilet cubicles.
Today, we’ve made progress in supporting working mothers — and now, it’s time to extend that same consideration to midlife transitions.
Employers and employees alike need the language, education, and tools to identify symptoms and access appropriate support.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has often been misunderstood. A widely publicised 1990s study from the Women’s Health Initiative cast a long shadow over HRT, linking it with breast cancer. Thirty years later, we now know that the associated risks — particularly for certain types of HRT — were overstated, and that the benefits for many far outweigh the risks. When appropriately prescribed, HRT can reduce all-cause mortality and improve quality of life by supporting cardiovascular, bone, and brain health — not to mention alleviating symptoms often misattributed to burnout or mental health decline.
As we live and work longer, often well into our 60s and beyond, we have a collective responsibility to build work cultures that honour life’s transitions. By supporting hormonal health with evidence-based care, flexibility, and empathy, we don’t just create healthier individuals — we create stronger, more resilient organisations.
Originally published in Skyways Magazine, August 2025
