Perimenopause and its impact on the workplace
Perimenopause is a natural phase of life that every woman goes through, but the impact varies from person to person. Symptoms can be mild, but also so intense that they affect health, work and daily life. Around 80% of working women over 40 find that menopausal symptoms make their work more difficult. Scientific knowledge and good care help you understand what is happening and what you can do to reduce symptoms. You can read more about this below.
Menopause, perimenopause...
what is it?
Menopause literally means the last menstrual period. You often only recognize it afterwards. The period before menopause is called perimenopause and can last several years. During perimenopause, the first symptoms often start and your menstrual pattern changes. Postmenopause is the period after the last menstrual period. Together, perimenopause, menopause and early postmenopause are known as the menopause transition. It is a natural phase of life, just like puberty, and marks the end of the fertile period: after this, it is no longer possible to have children.
For your hormones, menopause is a turning point. After menopause, your body produces hardly any estrogen. In the longer term, this drop in estrogen may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, bone loss (osteoporosis) and even dementia.
During perimenopause, your menstrual pattern often changes first: your cycle may become shorter or longer and bleeding may be heavier or lighter. This is due to fluctuations in hormone production. In addition, various symptoms can occur, such as hot flashes and night sweats. These often affect your sleep and can lead to fatigue, mood swings, concentration problems and memory problems. Heart palpitations, muscle and joint pain and changes in your figure (such as an increase in belly fat) are also common. These are just a few of the many symptoms that can occur during the menopause transition; the experience is different for every woman.
What can you do?
Many women with menopausal symptoms need guidance and treatment. A healthy lifestyle is the foundation.
Think of a healthy diet, not smoking, drinking little or no alcohol, exercising regularly, and relaxing your mind and body. These habits have been proven effective. If this does not help enough, treatment may be helpful.
Menopausal symptoms occur because your body produces less estrogen. Hormone therapy is the most effective treatment: it reduces symptoms such as hot flashes, poor sleep and mood swings and can also protect your bones, heart and blood vessels. With short-term use, the risk of breast cancer is not or only slightly increased. This depends on your age and the type of medicine you use. Safe variants are used in the Netherlands. If hormones are not an option or not desired, it is important to get good information about other, non-hormonal treatments. This may also be necessary if a woman wants to stop taking hormones after a number of years, for example because of the slightly increased risk of breast cancer with long-term use.
Impact of perimenopause in the workplace
Every woman has the right to good quality of life, work and care during perimenopause. Perimenopause is a natural phase of life, but the symptoms can significantly affect daily functioning. Sometimes the symptoms are mild and sometimes they are severe and can even lead to physical health problems, such as anemia due to heavy bleeding.
Women make up half of the working population. Around 80% of working women over 40 find that menopausal symptoms make their work more difficult. Less than half of them discuss this at work. Symptoms can lead to more frequent sick leave, slower recovery and lower productivity. At the same time, both employers and women themselves often have little knowledge and awareness of perimenopause. Healthcare providers do not always recognize menopausal symptoms either, because they can resemble stress or burnout symptoms.
That is why it is important that employers pay attention to perimenopause. Work is valuable for women and for society. By making perimenopause open to discussion and providing appropriate support, we help women stay healthy, motivated and able to work. This is good for them and for the organization.
What do I offer?
Workshops for employees
information session for employees
information session for managers
About Doctor Marel
My name is Jacolien van der Marel. I am a gynecologist and I help women and organizations deal better with the impact of women's health issues such as perimenopause.
Every day, I see how these issues affect women's functioning, well-being and job satisfaction. With reliable, evidence-based knowledge and practical tools, I help make them open to discussion. This gives women more control over their health and well-being, and gives organizations more insight into sustainable employability.
My mission: breaking taboos and working together on vitality and understanding, at home and in the workplace.