Menopause is not only a personal health experience. For many women, it intersects with demanding roles, workplace culture, sleep disruption, concentration difficulties and a lack of practical support.
In a 2023 CIPD survey of more than 2,000 employed women aged 40-60, 73% had experienced menopause symptoms. Among those who had experienced symptoms, 67% said the symptoms had had a mostly negative effect on their work.
The most reliable conclusion is not that a precise number of women “leave the workforce because of menopause.” Rather, research suggests that unsupported symptoms can contribute to reduced working hours, withdrawal from progression, presenteeism and, for some women, job change or exit. The size of that effect is difficult to measure accurately because much of the available evidence relies on self-selected surveys and does not distinguish clearly between changing jobs and leaving paid work altogether.
That uncertainty does not make menopause a minor workplace issue. It makes rigorous workplace data, manager training and practical support more important - not less.
For organisations looking to turn awareness into action, discover how menopause support for your workplace can help build a more supportive, informed and menopause-aware workforce.
Identify gaps in manager confidence, employee awareness and workplace consistency in under 5 minutes. Download the free Menopause Workplace Assessment for HR & Organisations
The workforce you are losing
Women aged 45 to 55 represent some of the most experienced, senior, and institutionally valuable employees in any organisation. Many women in this age group hold substantial experience, leadership responsibility and organisational knowledge. Losing experienced employees can therefore have a disproportionate impact on teams and organisations.
As outlined above, the precise number of women who leave the workforce because of menopause is uncertain. What is clearer is that unsupported symptoms can contribute to reduced hours, withdrawal from progression, presenteeism and, for some women, job change or exit.
Many affected employees work in management, senior professional or leadership roles. When they reduce their hours, step back from progression or leave, organisations may lose valuable experience and the return on earlier investment in their development.
Replacing experienced employees can be costly once recruitment, onboarding, lost productivity and knowledge transfer are considered. The exact cost varies substantially by role, sector and organisation, but unwanted attrition is a material business risk.
The hidden productivity drain
Attrition is visible. What organisations rarely measure - and therefore rarely address - is what happens before the resignation letter arrives.
Evidence submitted to the Women and Equalities Committee cited industry survey research estimating that menopause symptoms cost the UK economy around 14 million working days a year, equivalent to approximately £1.8 billion in lost productivity. This is an estimate based on self-reported survey data, not an official measure of productivity loss.
But raw absence figures understate the problem significantly. The UK Government's own literature review on menopause and workplace productivity (2025) identifies a pattern that most organisations will recognise when it is named: presenteeism. Women who are at work but not fully functioning. Women who are compensating for cognitive symptoms by working additional unpaid hours outside contracted time. Women who are delivering output that looks normal from the outside while carrying a significant hidden cost.
Some women compensate by working additional unpaid hours to make up for time lost to symptoms. This may make output appear stable in the short term, while concealing a significant personal and organisational cost. The risk is greater when employees feel unable to raise symptoms or ask for support. Menopause is both a health and wellbeing issue and a workforce issue; treating it only as one or the other can mean missing practical opportunities to help.
Perception can also compound the problem. Women may report not only a genuine impact on performance but also a concern that others see them as less capable. That perception is not always accurate, but it can affect confidence, self-assessment and willingness to seek support.
Before Women Leave, Managers Need Better Conversations
When experienced women leave or disengage during midlife, menopause may be one contributing factor, but it is rarely the only one. More often, it is the accumulation of unsupported symptoms, misunderstood performance concerns and conversations that never happened. Managers are often the difference between:
an employee receiving support
or an employee quietly disengaging
Some managers may feel unsure how to open or respond to these conversations, particularly where they have had little training or guidance. That is why I created a free practical resource: Download the free Manager Guide →
Because retention starts with conversations that employees feel safe having.
The leadership blind spot
Some senior leadership teams may not yet discuss menopause as a workforce or business issue. They may have a menopause policy - often drafted by HR, rarely read by management, almost never integrated into line management practice. They may have attended a webinar. They may have signed a pledge.
A useful next step is to connect workforce data - such as absence, retention, engagement and progression patterns - with employees’ lived experience and the support available.
Survey-based and commercial estimates suggest that menopause-related absence, reduced productivity and attrition may represent a substantial cost for UK employers. However, these estimates vary widely and should be treated as indicative rather than precise. Few organisations separately track the contribution of menopause to absence, attrition, progression or productivity, which can make the issue easy to overlook in standard workforce reporting.
The right question is not "do we have a menopause policy?" It is: "what is menopause costing us - and what would it cost to address it properly?"
In some organisations, targeted support may cost less than the avoidable costs of disengagement, absence or unwanted turnover -but this should be assessed using the organisation’s own data.
What responsive organisations are doing differently
Research and workplace guidance suggest that manager support, flexibility and practical adjustments can help employees manage symptoms and remain in work. However, the size of the benefit varies by organisation, role and the support provided.
Some of the most useful interventions are relatively simple. Organisations may be better placed to support employees when they do three things well.
First, they have trained their line managers. Not just in policy compliance - in how to have a conversation. The gap between a menopause policy and a menopause-supportive culture often shows up in day-to-day line-management practice. A manager who knows how to respond, how to ask, and how to facilitate an adjustment request without making it awkward changes the experience of every woman on their team. A manager who does not respond constructively may leave an employee without the practical support they need, even where a policy exists.
Second, they have made flexibility genuinely available, not theoretically permitted. The distinction matters. Many organisations have flexible working policies that exist on paper but carry an implicit cultural penalty in practice. In environments where visible presence is equated with commitment, the formal right to flex is undermined by the informal expectation not to use it. Organisations that address both policy and culture may be better placed to retain and support experienced female employees, although the size of the benefit will vary.
Third, they have normalised the conversation. Not through compulsory training or awareness months alone, but through visible leadership behaviour. When senior women speak openly about their experience, when leaders of any gender acknowledge the issue without embarrassment, when line managers ask rather than assume - the friction that prevents disclosure reduces, and the adjustments that actually help become available before women reach breaking point.
The strategic case for acting now
Menopause is both a health and wellbeing issue and a workforce issue. Treating it only as an individual wellbeing matter risks overlooking the organisational factors - workload, environment, flexibility, manager response and workplace culture - that shape whether employees can remain effective and supported.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces Employer Action Plans for employers with 250 or more employees. These plans must address gender equality, including support for employees experiencing menopause. They are voluntary for now and are expected to become mandatory from spring 2027, subject to secondary legislation.
The organisations that act now are not just getting ahead of compliance. They are building capability in management practice, data collection and cultural normalisation that may be harder to develop quickly once a compliance deadline is close. The organisations that wait will face a harder task: implementing structural change under legal pressure, without the institutional readiness that voluntary early adoption would have built.
Menopause support is also, increasingly, a talent differentiator. As awareness grows among the women most affected, the question "what does this organisation do about menopause?" is becoming part of how experienced female candidates assess whether a workplace is one they want to join and stay in. Employers with a credible, visible approach to menopause support may be better placed to attract and retain experienced talent.
Where to go from here: turn awareness into action
If you’re an HR leader, senior manager or someone responsible for people, performance or retention, the next step is to understand how well your organisation currently supports employees experiencing menopause.
A policy is a starting point. What matters is whether managers know how to respond, employees feel safe asking for support, and practical adjustments are available when they are needed.
1. Start with a free workplace assessment
Identify potential gaps in manager confidence, employee awareness and workplace consistency with the free Menopause Workplace Assessment for HR & Organisations.
It’s a practical starting point for understanding where your organisation may need to strengthen its approach.
Download the free Menopause Workplace Assessment for HR & Organisations
2. Help managers turn policy into practice
Even a well-written policy cannot replace a confident, informed conversation between a manager and an employee.
The free Manager Guide: Menopause Conversations at Work offers a practical starting point for building understanding and helping managers approach these conversations more confidently.
Download the free Menopause Manager Guide
3. Ready to strengthen menopause support in your organisation?
If your organisation is ready to move beyond awareness and develop a more practical approach, I work with organisations on menopause education, manager training, workplace sessions and strategy.
We can explore what your organisation needs, where the gaps may be, and what meaningful support could look like in practice.
Discuss workplace menopause support for your organisation
Looking for support for yourself?
This article focuses on the organisational case for menopause support. But if you’re reading it because menopause is affecting your own energy, concentration, confidence or working life, there are options for you too.
Explore Menopause Essentials
If you want to understand your symptoms and explore practical ways to support your wellbeing, discover Menopause Essentials.
Consider personalised menopause coaching
If you would value support tailored to your symptoms, circumstances and goals, find out about menopause coaching.
Not sure where to start?
You don’t need to have everything worked out before asking for support. Book a free Menopause Clarity Call to discuss your situation and explore whether coaching may be right for you.
Menopause support is not simply about having the right policy. It is about creating a workplace where experienced employees can ask for help, managers know how to respond, and organisations take practical action before preventable problems become costly ones.
References
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 .
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (2026) Menopause at work: talking with staff about the menopause. Available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/menopause-at-work/talking-with-staff-about-the-menopause .
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/
Women and Equalities Committee (2022) Menopause and the workplace: fifth report of session 2021–22. House of Commons. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/91/report.html .
Health & Her (2022) Written evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee: menopause and the workplace (MEW0054). Available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/39340/pdf/ .
UK Government (2025) Menopause in the workplace literature review. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-in-the-workplace-literature-review/menopause-in-the-workplace-literature-review
Department for Business and Trade (2026) Employer action plans. Available at: https://www.business.gov.uk/campaign/employment-changes/employers/employer-action-plans/ .
Employment Rights Act 2025. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36/contents .
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2024) Menopause in the workplace: guidance for employers. Available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/menopause-workplace-guidance-employers .
Orgad, S., Paull, G. and Rottenberg, C. (2025) ‘The problem of addressing menopause in the workplace without rigorous evidence’, LSE Business Review, 29 July. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2025/07/29/the-problem-of-addressing-menopause-in-the-workplace-without-rigorous-evidence/ .
Orgad, S. (2025) ‘Women who quit: media and policy discourse about gender and work’, LSE Public Policy Review, 10(1). doi:10.31389/lseppr.121. Available at: https://ppr.lse.ac.uk/articles/10.31389/lseppr.121 .
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.
