PERIOD AT WORK

It’s taken a while, but women have finally been fully incorporated and consolidated into the previously male-dominated world of work. Almost. 

Look a little closer and you’ll notice that practically every professional environment still needs some adaptation to better cater to the needs of the people who work there. Chief among these is perhaps normalisation of menstruation.

It’s unfortunate, but I don't know a single woman who feels comfortable talking about her period at work — let alone with her male colleagues. A female colleague once told me that, "it’s hard enough proving that our work is even of equal value before we bring menstruation into it." Too right.

Sadly, this kind of thinking speaks to the societal taboo on menstruation. Periods are all too often associated with weakness, uncleanliness and something to be embarrassed about, when honestly, it’s just a natural process — one that we can actually learn a great deal from. 

But are companies prepared to have these conversations? And, do they make it easy for women and menstruating people to have them openly, too? Unfortunately, it seems not. 

The messages we (indirectly) receive in the workplace are: act like nothing’s wrong, ignore your cycle and continue to operate at 100% efficiency every day. 

Speaking for all of the menstruating people in my life… it’s not quite as simple as all that.

Every menstruating person experiences their period in a different way. Personally speaking, my first day is very painful. I need to take enough medication to potentially floor a small rhinoceros to numb the pain and keep up with my deliverables at work. On the plus side, I’m lucky enough to have home-working options, which do go a long way in making me feel more comfortable and able to perform my job. But this just isn’t possible for many people across a variety of companies and sectors, so it’s not a proper fix.

In 2018, popular menstrual underwear brand, Thinx found that 42% of women have experienced period-shaming at work. A significant 73% confess to hiding a pad or tampon on their way to the bathroom and 58% say they have felt embarrassed at work because of their period for any reason. 

With those figures in mind, I surveyed the women and menstruating people of my last company in 2022 and, sadly, confirmed that Thinx's findings on this embarrassment are still valid today. 

The vast majority said that it’s not a subject they feel comfortable discussing with their colleagues or bosses. And although they don’t want to be treated differently, they would appreciate greater understanding from the company. Additionally, more than 80% of the respondents confirm that their period regularly influenced their performance in some way, whether physically, psychologically or both. 

This being the case, it’s time to start taking the menstrual cycle into account when planning our work and harness it to drive performance rather than weaken it.

Paloma Alma, founder of  Cyclo Menstruación Sostenible (a menstrual products and menstrual education shop) strongly advocates that knowledge of our cycle can help menstruating people to perform better, trying to adapt our work schedule to it whenever we can. 

To this end, one of the tools that help us learn the ins and outs of our unique cycles are menstrual diagrams, where we can identify patterns of behaviour and feelings by comparing notes we make in different months — an extremely useful tool for the workplace.

The reality is this: gender equality in the workplace does not yet exist. But starting to consider the well-being implications of something as natural and commonplace as menstruation would be a great step towards a fairer and more equitable society.

The BBC recently reported that Scotland has passed legislation offering free menstrual products in order to promote equality and dignity and to combat menstrual poverty. This is an exceptional policy — one that has been met with resounding agreement — that may serve as an example for other countries. For example, the Spanish Government recently agreed to reduce VAT on menstrual products from 10% to 4%. 

Change is happening. Slowly.

So, what can we do about it in the workplace right now? 

One of the initiatives being implemented around the world is the incorporation of more period-friendly policies that promote flexible working and menstrual leave for people who suffer severe pain during their cycle. While this isn’t possible in all cases (and must be carefully strategised when it is) it’s still a impactful change that must be investigated.

Moreover, in the spirit of breaking the stigma — and there being nothing to hide in the first place — many companies are starting to provide environmentally friendly menstrual products in all restrooms as standard. My company did it, and the positive impact on the people experience was huge. 

Investing in green products that are both good for the environment and good for our health is investing in the quality of life and well-being of our employees — and that directly influences the performance of a company.

Whatever initiative works best for you, without a doubt, the biggest step we can take right now is to start talking openly about menstruation without shame until the stigma disappears.

So, let's start the conversation.