Menopause-related absence is only part of the picture. Discover how presenteeism, lost experience and employee turnover can affect organisations - and how HR teams can start identifying where support is needed.
Menopause can affect more than an employee's wellbeing. It can influence attendance, concentration, confidence, performance and decisions about whether to remain in a role.
Yet many organisations struggle to understand the scale of the issue within their own workforce.
An employee may take sickness absence without mentioning menopause. Another may continue working while struggling with fatigue, disrupted sleep or difficulty concentrating. Someone else may quietly reduce their ambitions or begin looking for another job because they no longer feel supported.
These experiences do not always appear in organisational reporting as menopause-related issues. Their impact can be spread across sickness absence, employee engagement, performance, retention and recruitment costs.
The challenge for employers is not simply to recognise that menopause can affect work. It is to understand where the impact may be occurring, identify gaps in support and take proportionate action.
This guide explores the evidence on menopause-related absence, presenteeism and talent loss, explains why standard workforce data may not tell the whole story, and outlines practical ways employers can start improving their understanding.
The hidden costs of menopause at work: what the evidence tells us
Research into menopause and employment has highlighted several ways symptoms can affect working life.
The UK Government's 2025 literature review examined evidence about menopause in the workplace, including the economic implications of symptoms affecting employment and productivity. The NHS Confederation has also examined the economic consequences of menopause-related difficulties, including their potential contribution to women leaving employment.
Other research, including the CIPD's Menopause in the Workplace report, has explored the experiences of working women, the effect symptoms can have on work and the relationship between workplace support and decisions about remaining in employment.
Together, this evidence points to three areas employers should consider:
Sickness absence: time away from work when symptoms affect an employee's ability to work.
Presenteeism: employees being at work but experiencing difficulties that affect their capacity or effectiveness.
Talent loss: experienced employees reducing their hours, stepping back from opportunities or leaving employment.
These are related, but they are not interchangeable measures. They also cannot simply be added together without considering how the underlying studies define and calculate their estimates.
The important question for an individual organisation is how these issues may be showing up within its own workforce.
Why your absence data may not tell the whole story
Most organisations already track sickness absence. They may review absence frequency, duration, recurring patterns, return-to-work discussions and other workforce indicators.
These measures can be useful, but they do not necessarily explain why an employee has been absent.
An employee experiencing disrupted sleep may be too exhausted to work effectively the following day. Someone struggling with anxiety or migraines may need time away from work. Another person may experience symptoms that affect concentration or confidence but decide not to disclose them to their manager.
The recorded reason for absence may therefore describe a symptom or immediate difficulty without identifying every factor contributing to it.
This does not mean that every absence among a woman in midlife is menopause-related. It means that organisations should be careful about drawing conclusions from absence figures alone.
Why employees may not disclose menopause-related difficulties
Employees may be reluctant to discuss menopause at work for several reasons.
They may worry that their manager will not understand. They may feel uncomfortable discussing a personal health issue. They may fear being viewed as less capable, particularly if they hold a senior role or are working towards promotion.
Others may simply prefer to keep their health information private.
For employers, the answer is not to pressure employees to disclose symptoms or to require them to identify menopause as the cause of every relevant absence.
Instead, organisations can make support easier to access by providing clear information, training managers to respond appropriately and offering confidential routes for employees to discuss workplace difficulties.
Where appropriate, HR teams can review absence recording practices with their employment advisers to ensure that information is handled sensitively, consistently and in accordance with applicable requirements.
The aim is to understand patterns without making assumptions about individuals.
The three areas of potential productivity loss
To understand the potential organisational impact of menopause, it helps to distinguish between sickness absence, presenteeism and talent loss.
Each requires a different approach to measurement and support.
1. Sickness absence
Sickness absence is often the most visible element because organisations already collect attendance data.
Menopause symptoms may contribute to absence when an employee is experiencing difficulties such as disrupted sleep, severe fatigue, anxiety, headaches or other symptoms that affect their ability to work.
However, absence data alone cannot establish how much time off is attributable to menopause. That depends on what employees disclose, how information is recorded and the methods used to analyse the data.
Employers can start by reviewing whether their absence procedures allow employees to discuss relevant health-related difficulties appropriately and whether managers know how to handle these conversations.
Useful questions include:
Do managers understand how to conduct sensitive return-to-work conversations?
Do employees know what support is available?
Are managers able to signpost employees to HR or occupational health when appropriate?
Are workplace adjustments considered where relevant?
Does the organisation review patterns over time without making assumptions about individual employees?
The aim is not to label more absences as menopause-related. It is to create a process in which employees can raise relevant concerns and receive appropriate support.
2. Presenteeism: when employees are at work but struggling
Presenteeism is harder to measure than absence because the employee is present, even when their capacity to work may be affected.
An employee may attend meetings while struggling to concentrate. Someone who normally completes a task quickly may need longer because of fatigue or difficulty focusing. Another employee may continue delivering their work but use considerable additional time and energy to do so.
The effects can be particularly difficult to see when an employee is experienced, conscientious or reluctant to ask for help.
They may compensate by working longer hours, checking work repeatedly or avoiding tasks that require sustained concentration.
These examples do not prove that menopause is responsible for a performance change. Many factors can affect concentration, energy and productivity. But they illustrate why attendance alone is not a complete measure of how well employees are able to work.
For HR teams, this creates a practical challenge: how do you understand employee experience without intruding on personal health information or trying to measure something that is difficult to quantify accurately?
Start with the information you can collect responsibly.
Employee feedback, engagement surveys, manager conversations, occupational health themes and anonymised workforce trends can help identify where people may be experiencing barriers to effective work.
You may not be able to calculate a precise financial cost for every instance of presenteeism. You can still identify whether employees understand the support available and whether managers are equipped to respond.
3. Talent loss: when experienced employees leave or step back
The third area is the potential loss of experienced employees.
Some women may consider reducing their hours, changing roles, declining additional responsibilities or leaving employment when symptoms become difficult to manage alongside work.
Lack of workplace support is not the only reason someone may make these decisions. Health, caring responsibilities, career preferences and other circumstances can also contribute.
Nevertheless, research into menopause and employment has identified an association between workplace support and women's experiences of work, including their intentions to remain in employment.
For organisations, losing an experienced employee can involve recruitment costs, onboarding time, disruption to client relationships and the loss of knowledge that has taken years to develop.
There may also be less visible effects when an employee remains in the organisation but steps back from development opportunities or no longer feels able to pursue progression.
These are not costs that can automatically be attributed to menopause. They are reasons to consider whether the organisation is doing enough to identify and address avoidable barriers to employees' participation and progression.
For the broader strategic case, including retention and organisational risk, read Menopause at Work: Why It's a Business Risk.
That article explores the wider business implications. This article focuses on the data and the ways employers can begin identifying potential costs within their own organisation.
Identifying the potential impact is only the starting point. Organisations also need to consider what practical support would make a difference - from improving menopause awareness to giving managers the confidence to handle workplace conversations.
Explore Workplace Menopause Support for Organisations to find out how I can help your organisation develop a more informed and practical approach.
What does menopause-related productivity loss mean for your organisation?
National research provides context, but it cannot tell an individual employer exactly how much menopause is costing its organisation.
The effect will vary according to workforce size, employee demographics, job roles, working conditions, existing support and the experiences of individual employees.
A useful starting point is to distinguish between three things:
1. National economic estimates
These describe estimated impacts across a wider population. Their value depends on the definitions, data and methods used in the original research.
2. Potential organisational exposure
This considers how the issues identified in research might apply to your workforce. It can help you decide which questions to investigate, but it is not the same as a measured financial loss.
3. Costs your organisation can substantiate
These are costs that can be calculated from your own data using a transparent method - for example, recruitment expenditure associated with employee turnover or recorded absence costs.
Keeping these categories separate prevents an organisation from presenting a national estimate as if it were a precise calculation of its own losses.
It also makes the business case for improving workplace support more credible.
Start by examining the information you already have
HR teams do not necessarily need to commission a complex study to begin understanding the issue.
Consider reviewing the following sources, where available and appropriate:
Sickness absence patterns and existing absence-management procedures.
Employee engagement and wellbeing survey results.
Exit interview themes and employee feedback.
Retention and turnover data.
Access to occupational health and other support services.
Manager confidence in handling sensitive workplace conversations.
Employee awareness of workplace policies and available adjustments.
None of these measures can independently establish that menopause is responsible for a particular outcome.
Taken together, however, they may help identify gaps that deserve further investigation.
It is important to protect confidentiality, avoid collecting unnecessary health information and use appropriate safeguards when analysing employee data.
Ask whether employees can access support in practice
A policy may describe the support an organisation intends to provide. The next question is whether employees know about it and can access it consistently.
For example:
Do employees know where to find menopause guidance?
Are managers confident about how to respond when someone raises a concern?
Do employees know how to request a workplace adjustment?
Are there alternative contacts for employees who do not feel comfortable speaking to their line manager?
Are agreed actions followed up?
Does the organisation seek feedback on whether its approach is working?
These questions help identify practical barriers that may be invisible in high-level reporting.
If you are unsure where to begin, the free Workplace Menopause Readiness Assessment for HR and Organisations can help you identify potential gaps in manager confidence, employee awareness and consistency of support.
The legal and policy context
The financial case for improving workplace menopause support is only one part of the picture. Employers also need to understand their existing responsibilities and the developing policy framework.
Under the Equality Act 2010, menopause symptoms may engage disability protections where the statutory definition of disability is met. Depending on the circumstances, sex or age discrimination issues may also arise.
The legal position is fact-specific. Not every person experiencing menopause will meet the legal definition of disability, and employers should seek appropriate HR or legal advice when assessing their responsibilities in a particular case.
For a more detailed explanation of the relevant protections, read Your Legal Rights at Work During Menopause (UK Guide).
Employers should also be aware of the developing requirements relating to Menopause Action Plans.
Government guidance explains that employers with 250 or more employees can publish voluntary action plans alongside their gender pay gap data from April 2026. Mandatory implementation is planned for 2027, subject to the applicable legislation and implementation arrangements.
The action-planning framework provides an opportunity for eligible employers to consider how they support employees experiencing menopause, alongside wider work to address the gender pay gap.
For the legislative background, relevant timelines and practical implications for employers, read What the Employment Rights Act 2025 Means for Menopause at Work.
This article is concerned with a different question: how employers can understand the potential impact on their workforce and use that understanding to inform their approach.
What can employers do to reduce avoidable barriers?
The evidence does not suggest that every organisation needs an expensive menopause programme.
The more useful starting point is to identify where employees are experiencing difficulties and whether practical improvements could make support easier to access.
1. Make workplace information easy to find
Employees should be able to find relevant guidance without having to disclose personal information first.
Make sure policies and information explain where employees can seek support, how to raise a concern and who to contact if they do not feel comfortable approaching their line manager.
2. Build manager confidence
Managers are often the people who receive the first indication that an employee is struggling.
They need to understand how menopause may affect work, how to respond to a disclosure, how to explore possible support and when to involve HR.
This is not about asking managers to diagnose symptoms or act as medical advisers. It is about helping them respond appropriately and consistently.
For a detailed look at what effective training can cover, read Menopause Training for Managers: Why Policy Isn't Enough (UK Guide).
3. Review access to workplace adjustments
Practical changes may help employees manage their working environment and day-to-day responsibilities.
Depending on the employee's circumstances and role, possibilities may include changes to temperature or ventilation, access to drinking water and toilet facilities, suitable break arrangements or adjustments to working patterns.
The right response depends on the individual. Managers should follow organisational procedures and seek advice where appropriate rather than assuming that one adjustment will work for everyone.
For specific examples, read Menopause Workplace Adjustments: What You Can Ask For (UK Guide).
4. Make workplace conversations easier
Employees should not have to wait until a situation becomes unmanageable before they can raise a concern.
Managers can help by listening without assumptions, respecting confidentiality and focusing on the employee's work-related needs rather than demanding personal details.
Employees who want to prepare for a conversation can read How to Talk to Your Manager About Menopause (Without Undermining Yourself).
5. Review what is working
Workplace support should not be judged solely by whether a policy has been published or a training session delivered.
Consider whether employees know where to find support, whether managers feel equipped to respond, whether agreed actions are followed up and whether employee feedback identifies areas for improvement.
Over time, these indicators can help you assess whether your approach is becoming more consistent and useful.
From identifying the problem to taking action
The purpose of examining absence, presenteeism and retention is not to attach a financial figure to every employee's experience.
It is to help organisations ask better questions.
Where might employees be struggling without support? Are managers confident enough to have constructive conversations? Do employees know what help is available? Are workplace procedures working as intended?
Once you have a clearer picture, you can make more informed decisions about where to focus your effort.
For some organisations, that may mean improving communication and making existing policies easier to use. For others, it may mean providing manager training, reviewing access to adjustments or developing a more structured approach to workplace menopause support.
The appropriate next step will depend on what your organisation needs.
Start with a Workplace Menopause Readiness Assessment
If you are an HR professional, people leader or organisational decision-maker, the first step does not have to be committing to a training programme.
Start by identifying what is already working and where there may be gaps.
The free Workplace Menopause Readiness Assessment is designed to help you review areas such as:
Manager confidence and capability.
Employee awareness of available support.
Workplace policies and support pathways.
Consistency of practice across teams.
Opportunities to strengthen your organisation's approach.
It gives you a practical starting point for deciding where further attention may be useful.
Complete the free Workplace Menopause Readiness Assessment
Once you have completed the assessment, you can use the results to consider which improvements would be most useful for your organisation.
Workplace Menopause Support: turning insight into action
Understanding the potential costs of unmanaged menopause at work is a starting point. The next step is deciding what your organisation can do to improve the experience of employees and give managers the confidence to respond appropriately.
I work with organisations to build menopause awareness, develop manager confidence and translate understanding into practical workplace support.
Depending on your organisation's needs, this can include:
Workplace menopause awareness sessions.
Practical menopause training for managers.
Guidance on conversations and potential workplace adjustments.
Support to review the menopause education dimension of your existing workplace approach.
The focus is on evidence-informed education and practical learning that helps managers respond with greater confidence. This work complements your organisation's existing HR policies and professional advice; it does not replace employment-law or specialist HR advice.
If your organisation is ready to explore what that could look like, visit the Workplace Menopause Support for Organisations page to see the available options.
Explore Workplace Menopause Support for Organisations
You can also start with the free readiness assessment above and use the results to guide your next steps.
This article is intended for general educational purposes and does not constitute legal, HR, financial or occupational health advice. Research estimates vary according to the populations studied and the methods used. Employers should consult current official guidance and seek appropriate professional advice where necessary.
References
Department for Work and Pensions and Government Social Research Profession (2025) Menopause in the workplace literature review. DWP ad hoc research report no. 116. London: Department for Work and Pensions. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-in-the-workplace-literature-review/menopause-in-the-workplace-literature-review
Brewis, J., Beck, V., Davies, A. and Matheson, J. (2017) The effects of menopause transition on women’s economic participation in the UK. DfE research report DfE-RR704. London: Department for Education. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-transition-effects-on-womens-economic-participation
House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee (2022) Menopause and the workplace: first report of session 2022–23. HC 91. London: House of Commons. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/91/report.html
NHS Confederation, CREATE Health Foundation and London Economics (2024) Women’s health economics: investing in the 51%. London: NHS Confederation. Available at: https://www.nhsconfed.org/publications/womens-health-economics
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2023) Menopause in the workplace: employee experiences in 2023. London: CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/menopause-workplace-experiences/
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2023) Health and wellbeing at work 2023. London: CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/health-well-being-work/
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2023) The menopause at work: guidance for people managers. London: CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/guides/menopause-people-manager-guidance/
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (2026) Menopause at work: supporting staff through the menopause. Available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/menopause-at-work/supporting-staff-through-the-menopause
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2024) Menopause in the workplace: guidance for employers. Available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/menopause-workplace-guidance-employers
Faubion, S.S., Enders, F., Hedges, M.S., Chaudhry, R., Kling, J.M., Shufelt, C.L., Saadedine, M., Mara, K., Griffin, J.M. and Kapoor, E. (2023) ‘Impact of menopause symptoms on women in the workplace’, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 98(6), pp. 833–845. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2023.02.025. PMID: 37115119.
Safwan, N., Saadedine, M., Shufelt, C.L., Kapoor, E., Kling, J.M., Chaudhry, R. and Faubion, S.S. (2024) ‘Menopause in the workplace: challenges, impact, and next steps’, Maturitas, 185, 107983. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2024.107983
D’Angelo, S., Bevilacqua, G., Hammond, J., Zaballa, E., Dennison, E.M. and Walker-Bone, K. (2022) ‘Impact of menopausal symptoms on work: findings from women in the Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF) study’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 295. doi:10.3390/ijerph20010295. PMID: 36612616
Equality Act 2010, c. 15. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents .
Employment Rights Act 2025, c. 36. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36/contents
Government Equalities Office (2026) Conduct a menopause risk assessment for your workplace. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conduct-a-menopause-risk-assessment-for-your-workplace/conduct-a-menopause-risk-assessment-for-your-workplace
Government Equalities Office (2026) Review policies and procedures to meet the needs of employees experiencing menopause. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-policies-and-procedures-to-meet-the-needs-of-employees-experiencing-menopause/review-policies-and-procedures-to-meet-the-needs-of-employees-experiencing-menopause
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Phillipa Jacobs-Smith practises within the UKIHCA Scope of Practice as a Nutrition and Health Coach. Women experiencing menopause symptoms should seek guidance from their GP or a qualified healthcare professional. Employers should consult a qualified employment solicitor or HR professional for specific legal advice. All research cited is sourced from peer-reviewed publications, UK government documents, HSE guidance, and accredited professional bodies.
