Director at Dalhousie University explains how lack of knowledge is creating a significant silence around menopause in both workplace policies and benefits plans
As workplaces recognize Women’s Health Month, many are turning to one of the many women’s health issues that often go under the radar: menopause.
Shawna O’Hearn argues while women - and employers - haven’t exactly been misled about the issue, there's been “a very significant silence to menopause,” which has led to an absence of education, research, and open discussion that has left women underserved and misunderstood, especially at work.
“I don't think that people are intentionally trying to mislead. I just think there's such a lack of education that has created this significant gap in understanding and support for women. Because we don’t have that information, we then don’t understand, how do we support women in the workplace?” said O’Hearn, director of global health at Dalhousie University and co-founder of Menopause Society of Nova Scotia.
She stressed that limited knowledge around menopause is creating that significant silence. Without adequate, evidence-based information, employers struggle to properly support women, O’Hearn underscored, which can often lead to dismissive or mocking attitudes.
She believes the impact of menopause in the workplace is still a largely unexplored area. What is clear, however, is that menopause often triggers sudden changes in mental health, notably anxiety and depression, which in turn affect how women view their own job performance.
According to the Menopause Foundation of Canada, it’s estimated that unmanaged symptoms of menopause costs the Canadian economy $3.5 billion per year. Consequently, $237 million is lost in productivity.
“Women go from having good mental health to all of a sudden feeling extreme anxiety, depression, and that's impacting them in their work,” explained O'Hearn. “Especially the anxiety, where they feel like they're not doing a good enough job. Yet, they’ve always met [workplace demands] before.”
O’Hearn emphasized that physical workplace challenges can often be overlooked. Women working in uniforms made of non-breathable materials, for example, may struggle with hot flashes and resulting brain fog and anxiety. And many lack even a basic place to step away when symptoms flare.
Additionally, menopause can create a mismatch between perception and performance in the workplace, which can then lead to serious consequences if managers aren't aware of what’s really going on.
“If you have a manager who doesn't understand, that could quickly escalate into performance reviews, reprimands, and potentially either the employee leaving on their own choice or being asked to leave,” she noted.
She’s quick to point to a recurring challenge in conversations around menopause, which is the tendency to frame it almost entirely through a medical lens. While O’Hearn acknowledged the importance of that aspect, she argues that focusing only on medical issues overlooks the deeper personal transitions many women experience, particularly in the workplace.
She sees menopause as a broader period of life change, notably where identity, purpose, and career direction can all come into question. In her conversations with women, she hears uncertainty. Not necessarily a desire to leave jobs, but confusion over how to cope, she noted.
As a solution, O’Hearn suggests employers consider adding support outside traditional health benefits, like lifestyle or career coaching.
While she acknowledged that coaching typically targets employees at certain levels, she emphasized it could be extended more broadly in plans.
When it comes to benefits plans, O’Hearn acknowledged while there's been noticeable progress, she’s certain there's still work to do. As employers begin to recognize the real needs of their workforce, benefits packages are starting to include coverage for areas that have been overlooked historically, including hormone therapy, pelvic health physiotherapy, and mental health counseling.
“There's been such a significant change just in the past couple of years, in how benefits and plans are starting to change,” said O’Hearn. “They know that almost 50 per cent of the employees are struggling. Those supports will benefit themselves but also benefit the workplace.”
She believes that as more organizations share what they're doing, it encourages others to assess and update their own offerings. But she also cautioned that the work won’t be done with just a few changes because as plans evolve, there will still be gaps to identify.
That’s why O’Hearn outlined several practical steps employers can take to create a menopause-friendly work environment, starting with one of the simplest and most effective: training of managers. Another option is for employers to consider setting up internal support systems, like Employee Resource Groups. O’Hearn emphasized that she sees real value in bringing staff together to share experiences and hear from expert speakers.
“That empowerment that employees are gaining by getting the evidence, getting the information, but also having conversations with each other also starts to be a strength,” she said.
Finally, she encouraged employers to review their internal policies with a gender and age-inclusive lens. While some workplaces might benefit from creating a dedicated menopause policy, others may simply need to embed these considerations into existing structures.
“If we look at the number of females from 35 and older in the workplace, it's significant,” she said, noting that women make up nearly half of the Canadian labour force. “If you have almost half of your workforce that’s feeling unsupported, unwell in the workplace, what's going to happen? They're going to leave, they're going to be unhappy, they're not going to be at their best,” she said.
