Menopause ‘cripples the UK economy’

Lack of menopause awareness and support is costing the UK close to £10 billion

Findings released today by the UK’s leading menopause support app balance show the true cost of the menopause on the country’s economy – a staggering £10 billion that generates a massive and silent cost for organisations.

The research, which focuses on the financial impact of menopausal women leaving the workforce due to the menopause and the associated costs of rehiring and retraining staff as a result, comes at a crucial time as the country falls into recession and the UK economy reaches breaking point, meaning this figure hits even harder.

Balance, a free app that provides evidence-based and medically approved support and guidance to menopausal and perimenopausal women, started investigating the true cost in order to understand the sheer scale of the problem caused by the lack of good menopause awareness and education in the UK and to ultimately help companies understand the severe financial consequences of not providing support for their employees.

According to The Fawcett Society, 1 in 10 women who worked during the menopause have left a job due to their symptoms, with 26% taking time off work as a result, of which 22% took more than one month off or more. [1]

The team of researchers at balance, the only menopause support app certified by ORCHA and recognised as safe, accredited, compliant, and trusted to feature in digital health libraries for the NHS, worked to create an economic formula that could be applied to any organisation or industry to calculate the true financial impact of the menopause.

As well as factoring in the number of women who will leave the workplace due to menopause (10%), [2] the balance team also did a deep dive into the statistics surrounding workplace absence due to the menopause and the economic impact that has on an organisation. They also took into consideration the individual cost of replacing a staff member, looking at hire costs, training and loss of productivity for new hires.

The team at balance used data from the Fawcett Society, the ONS, and drew from their own expert opinions to create the formula that reveals the true cost for organisations

The balance app has been downloaded over 750,000 times globally providing women with the help that they need. As well as giving its users access to expert advice, balance also allows women to track their symptoms and download a personalised health report© that they can take to their GPs, helping them receive treatment quicker.

Gaele Lalahy, COO of balance says:

“Women over 50 are the fastest growing segment of the workforce in the UK, and research demonstrates an evident correlation between untreated and undiagnosed menopause symptoms with experience at work and career progression, which in turn has a huge financial impact on companies – and on the UK economy as a whole.

We are partnering with a large number of organisations to support  their diversity agenda, retain their female talents, and empower their employees to thrive in their careers.

We are passionate about accelerating menopause awareness, diagnosis and care, and as we continue to progress in our mission, we will enable more women to thrive in the workplace, claim their seats in top positions, reduce the gender pay gap and create a more equal society.”

Comment from Jill Cotton, career trends expert at Glassdoor, the worldwide leader on insights into jobs and companies:

The pandemic prompted a rapid transformation of the world of work and brought with it a sharp focus on employee wellbeing and mental health. But topics such as menopause are still seen as taboo in many workplaces. And this lack of transparency can create a gap between what employees actually want or need and what a company delivers. Or worse, the issue is not being addressed at all. Glassdoor research shows there is no silver bullet to creating the ‘perfect’ employee experience – flexibility is key. One in 10 people in the UK workforce is of menopausal age, but each person’s experience of menopause will be individual. Therefore, companies should offer a range of menopausal support to empower employees to tailor the offer to their specific needs. Being transparent and opening conversations around menopause or more widely about wellbeing and mental health can feel hard. But to attract and retain talent, it is vital companies take this step.

To learn more about how Balance can support your organisation, contact us at workplace@balance-app.com.

References

1. 2022 Fawcett Society research, ‘menopause and workplace’
2. 2022 Fawcett Society research, ‘menopause and workplace’