Why is it important that we talk about menopause at work?

Phoenix Wellness Coaching Limited is an independent wellness and life coaching company owned and operated by Jeanette Forder, an Accredited Life and Wellness Coach, and a Senior Member of the Association of Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists (ACCPH).

With 20 years’ experience as a Senior HR Business Partner and a Coach, working closely with, advising and challenging senior teams to build an engaged and inclusive culture where staff can thrive and perform to their highest level, I’m able to translate my own experience into useful advice for other senior managers to help them to build a sustainable, and resilient workforce that respects diversity and harnesses the power of difference at every employee’s life stage.

As menopausal women in the workplace represent the largest and fastest growing demographic in the UK, I am actively educating employers to support these employees, helping them to realise their full potential and retain them for longer.
The statistics speak for themselves and make it a business imperative to build inclusive workplaces where women can thrive and perform through every life stage:
A quarter of women think about leaving their job due to menopause, 9 in 10 do. 900,000 menopausal women left the workplace in 2019 alone.
24% of women say they have called in sick due to menopause and have felt unable to tell their manager the real reason for their absence.
70% of women feel unable to talk to their manager about their symptoms.
With these statistics there has never been a more urgent need to support employers. I can help you to stay up to date with the latest legal implications, and best practice, as they relate to menopause, ensuring you understand and can fulfil your commitments to provide adjustments to support menopausal staff and enable the right conversations to take place, ensuring their health and wellbeing is supported.
Working with me, I can and will help you to change these trends and create a workforce that is more engaged, more motivated, and more productive. I can help you to become an Employer of Choice for all women, but particularly for this growing group of women with a wealth of expertise to bring to your organisation. But when we talk about menopause, we cannot overlook the impact this has on other groups of staff either directly or indirectly.

Menopause and the Workplace

As menopausal women in the workplace represent the largest and fastest growing demographic in the UK, I am actively educating employers to support their female leaders, helping them to realise their full potential and retain these talented employees for longer.
Not only do I bring my knowledge as a life coach to the training and conversations around menopause, I also bring my extensive HR knowledge to the discussion. I understand the benefits of building a culture that supports all staff and that can and does have an impact on the performance of the organisation. Working with me will help you to:

  • Improve retention,
  • Reduce recruitment costs,
  • Reduce sickness absence,
  • Increase performance and productivity,
  • Increase engagement,
  • Improve diversity and inclusion,
  • Avoid potential expensive tribunal costs, and be seen as an Employer of Choice.

The statistics speak for themselves and make it a business imperative to build inclusive workplaces where women can thrive and perform through every life stage:

  • A quarter of women think about leaving their job due to menopause, 9 in 10 do. 900,000 menopausal women left the workplace in 2019 alone.
  • 24% of women say they have called in sick due to menopause and have felt unable to tell their manager the real reason for their absence.
  • 70% of women feel unable to talk to their manager about their symptoms.

With these statistics there has never been a more urgent need to support women, men, and employers. I can help you to stay up to date with the latest legal implications as they relate to menopause, ensuring you understand and can fulfil your commitments to provide reasonable adjustments to support menopausal women and enable the right conversations to take place, ensuring the health and wellbeing of these women is supported.
Working with me, I can and will help you to change these trends and create a workforce that is more engaged, more motivated, and more productive. I can help you to become an Employer of Choice for all women, but particularly for this growing group of women with a wealth of expertise to bring to your organisation.
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Menopause and men

At the same time as recognising the need to retain women in the workplace, we cannot ignore the fact that we do not live and work in isolation. There is every probability that many of your male employees will be impacted by the menopausal experiences of the women in their lives. The indirect impacts of menopause cannot be overlooked as many of your male employees will be supporting partners experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness, mood swings and sudden dips in self-confidence. These issues will all play out in the office in their work performance, relationships with colleagues and attendance.

Menopause and LGBTQ + People

It is not just women who will be impacted by menopause. Trans colleagues, or those identifying as non-binary or colleagues who describe themselves as variable sexual development (VSD) or as intersex can also be impacted by menopause. Research and guidance is difficult to find to support these colleagues, but at Phoenix Wellness Coaching we will help you to understand the implications of menopause on these groups of colleagues as well as show you have you can better support them and build a culture that respects their diverse needs.

There has never been a bigger imperative for employers to support staff experiencing menopause and we are here to help. As a good employer we will help you to tackle the key areas that will develop a menopause friendly culture:

  • Develop a Menopause Wellbeing Strategy and Policy,
  • Raise awareness of menopause across your organisation,
  • Build capability and confidence in your managers to support menopausal staff,
  • Help you to identify appropriate reasonable adjustments to enable your menopausal staff to remain in work and reach their full potential, and ensure that you remain at the forefront of the latest legislation around menopause.

Menopause is a sensitive and personal subject and one that isn’t often talked about in the workplace, but it can have an impact on your organisation’s performance. Because of the nature of the conversation, we recommend working with Phoenix Wellness Coaching as we have the knowledge, expertise, and personal experience to help your organisation to open this conversation and support your employees.
We are an independent wellness and life coaching company owned and operated by Jeanette Forder, an Accredited Life and Wellness Coach, and a Senior Member of the Association of Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists (ACCPH).
With 20 years’ experience as a Senior HR Business Partner and a Coach, working closely with, advising and challenging senior teams to build an engaged and inclusive culture where staff can thrive and perform to their highest level, I’m able to translate my own experience into useful advice for other senior managers to help them to build a sustainable, and resilient workforce that respects diversity and harnesses the power of difference at every employee’s life stage.

Building a Menopause Friendly culture

There has never been a bigger imperative for employers to support staff experiencing menopause and we are here to help. As a good employer, we will help you to tackle the key areas that will develop a menopause friendly culture:

  • Develop a Menopause Wellbeing Strategy and Policy,
  • Raise awareness of menopause across your organisation,
  • Build capability and confidence in your managers to support menopausal staff,
  • Help you to identify appropriate adjustments to enable your menopausal staff to remain in work and reach their full potential, and
  • Ensure that you remain at the forefront of the latest legislation and/or best practice around menopause.

Menopause support suit

Phoenix Wellness Coaching can offer a range of face to face or online workshops that will support all staff at this pivotal stage in their lives. We are keen that our workshops are not one-size fits all offering, as we seek to work with you to co-create the support you require and that fits your workplace culture and importantly achieves your goals. Below is a brief description of the programmes we can tailor to your needs.

  • Let’s Talk Menopause at Work – this 90-minutes session seeks to raise awareness of menopause; covering why it is a workplace issue; the stages of menopause, including why it happens, the age at which it happens, the common indicators and how to spot them; how to support colleagues experiencing menopause, covering how to open a conversation with your manager; the indirect implications of menopause and how these manifest in the workplace. This workshop is ideal for all staff regardless of age or gender as it is designed to raise awareness and open a conversation around menopause at work.
  • Line Managers Talking Menopause at Work – this 90-minutes session aims to raise awareness of how menopause can impact staff. It provides practical tools, using case studies, to help managers to understand how to approach a conversation about menopause; how they can spot the indicators of menopause and how these may manifest in the workplace, as well as taking a look at how to support staff through reasonable adjustments. This workshop is aimed at any staff member in a supervisory or managerial role and is non-gender specific.

Workplace Benefits

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Menopause is a taboo subject, and many women are unprepared when they reach this stage of their lives, leaving them feeling lost and confused about what is happening to them. If women don’t understand what is happening to them, then it follows that the men they encounter will also be in the dark. By raising awareness and providing training in the workplace, you will not only be supporting these staff members personally but there are many business benefits you can enjoy including:

  • Better understanding by developing a more supportive culture,
  • Better communication and understanding across the organisation by developing a shared language,
  • Improved productivity and performance,
  • Improved engagement with staff feeling more valued and importantly, heard,
  • Reduced absence levels,
  • Reduced workplace conflict,
  • Be seen as a forward-thinking Employer of Choice, and reduced recruitment costs through better retention of staff.

Business Benefits and Outcomes

Menopause is a taboo subject, and many women are unprepared when they reach this stage of their lives, leaving them feeling lost and confused about what is happening to them. If women don’t understand what is happening to them, it follows that the men they encounter will also be in the dark. By raising awareness and providing training in the workplace, you will not only be supporting these staff members personally but there are many business benefits you can enjoy including:

  • Better understanding by developing a more supportive culture,
  • Better communication and understanding across the organisation by developing a shared language,
  • Improved productivity and performance,
  • Improved engagement with staff feeling more valued and importantly, heard,
  • Reduced absence levels,
  • Reduced workplace conflict,
  • Be seen as a forward-thinking Employer of Choice, and
  • Reduced recruitment costs through better retention of staff.

Learning Outcomes for Attendees

After attending either of these workshops, attendees will:

  • Understand what menopause is and how it can affect women and other colleagues in the workplace,
  • Understand why menopause is a workplace issue,
  • Understand how to support colleagues experiencing menopause, using adjustments, and other appropriate policies to enable them to perform at their best more of the time,
  • Understand the indirect impacts of menopause on teams and staff whose partners might be experiencing menopause,
  • Be able to confidently open and conduct a conversation about menopause and feel empowered to support their team as required, and
  • Develop a shared understanding and common language around menopause at work that will break the taboo.

Workshop Learning Outcomes

After attending the Line Managers Talking Menopause workshop, attendees will:

  • Understand what menopause is and how it can affect women and other colleagues in the workplace,
  • Understand why menopause is a workplace issue,
  • Understand how to support colleagues experiencing menopause, using reasonable adjustments, and other appropriate policies to enable them to perform at their best more of the time,
  • Understand the indirect impacts of menopause on teams and staff whose partners might be experiencing menopause,
  • Able to confidently open and conduct a conversation about menopause and feel empowered to support their team as required, and
  • Think further about how they can better support colleagues by exploring best practice examples from other employers.

After attending the Let's Talk Menopause at work, attendees will:

  • Have greater awareness of the impacts of menopause at work,
  • Understand what menopause is and how it can affect colleagues in the workplace,
  • Understand how to open a conversation with colleagues about menopause at work,
  • Understand where to go to get support for their symptoms making use of the appropriate workplace policies, including what reasonable adjustments are available to support them, and
  • Develop a shared understanding and common language around menopause at work that will break the taboo around menopause.

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Workshop Delivery

All workshops can be delivered both in person or online via Microsoft Teams or Zoom, whichever is the most appropriate for your organisation, although we recommend that Line Managers Talking Menopause is delivered in person due to the interactive nature of the programme.
There is no limit on the number of staff who can attend the sessions, other than determined by the capacity of the venue.
Client Testimonials
Tracsis Limited, Lucy Bowkett, HR Administrator
“Jeanette from Phoenix Wellness delivered a Menopause workshop to our business, and it was great! She was communicative and happy to co-create the content and the talk landed really well with the business. I'd recommend Jeanette's services.”

Gray IT Limited, Graham Dolan, Managing Director
“Your Men-No-Pause workshop was brilliant! Not only was it very informative, very open and honest, but also the openness of the discussion was a real eye opener. You showed how to support and cope with lots of different scenarios. Your professionalism, care, attention and openness are second to none and is way above what anyone could expect.”

Accsys Accountants Limited, James Hartley, Senior Client Manager
“I wanted to say how helpful I found your presentation today. I have a member of my team going through perimenopause at the moment and I took your advice to talk to her, tactfully of course, for which she was very appreciative. I have now implemented a direct channel with me for her to talk to should she need to talk, vent or just take her mind off things. Thank you”

Chartered Insurance Institute, Andrea Lees-Farrell, Chartered Insurance Broker
“I recently met Jeanette via a networking group and asked her to host a session on menopause for the professional body I'm part of - The Chartered Insurance Institute. The whole process was a pleasure and the event itself was incredible. Of the 185 attendees the feedback was completely positive. I wholeheartedly recommend working with Jeanette if you get the opportunity”.

Investment
Each workshop is priced between £395 - £450 depending on your requirements, regardless of the number of participants.
All costs are inclusive of preparation and planning time.
All workshops can be tailored to your workplace culture to ensure the messages are received and a shift in behaviour is achieved.
VAT is not chargeable, although reasonable expenses (i.e., travel and subsistence) will be added to the final invoice if in-person workshops are preferred.

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Terms and Conditions

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If accepted as a client, you will be asked to sign a short Letter of Agreement with Phoenix Wellness Coaching covering our Terms and Conditions:
Payment is due 50% on booking, with the final 50% payable upon delivery of the last workshop and within 10 working days of that delivery.
All content remains the intellectual property of Phoenix Wellness Coaching and cannot be used or shared without our prior consent and agreement.
Phoenix Wellness Coaching will be free to use your logo on its website as a demonstration of the clients we have supported.
More information
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want to book a short discovery call to see how we can help.
Email: jeanette@phoenixwellness.co.uk
Tel: 07778 126477

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What our clients say

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Lucy Bowkett, HR Administrator
“Jeanette from Phoenix Wellness delivered a Menopause workshop to our business, and it was great! She was communicative and happy to co-create the content and the talk landed really well with the business. I'd recommend Jeanette's services.”

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Graham Dolan, Managing Director
“Your Men-No-Pause workshop was brilliant! Not only was it very informative, very open and honest, but also the openness of the discussion was a real eye opener. You showed how to support and cope with lots of different scenarios. Your professionalism, care, attention and openness are second to none and is way above what anyone could expect.”

Image

Andrea Lees-Farrell, Chartered Insurance Broker
“I recently met Jeanette via a networking group and asked her to host a session on menopause for the professional body I'm part of - The Chartered Insurance Institute. The whole process was a pleasure and the event itself was incredible. Of the 185 attendees the feedback was completely positive. I wholeheartedly recommend working with Jeanette if you get the opportunity”.

Book a Discovery Call
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