Menopause support at work: what helps, and why it matters here

Menopause is not the end, but a new beginning. It’s a natural phase in a woman’s life. It is not a disease. It is not a disgrace. It is not the end of womanhood — and it deserves to be talked about openly, especially at work, where it’s still too often left unsaid, tiptoed around, or covered up with a joke instead of a proper conversation.

What actually happens during menopause?

Menopause can bring a wide range of symptoms: irregular periods, hot flushes and chills, night sweats, sleep problems, mood changes, and weight gain. Some of these are easy to talk about at work. Others, the mood changes and the sleep problems especially, are harder to explain to a manager or a colleague, which is exactly why they need to be easier to raise, not harder.

What can help, day to day?

Five things consistently help.

• Regular exercise
• Eating healthy foods
• Getting enough sleep
• Managing stress
• Regular consultations with a doctor

None of these are a cure. They’re the practical, unglamorous groundwork that makes a difficult season more manageable, and they’re worth taking seriously even on the days they feel too small to bother with.

What does this mean for someone at work?

Your body may change, but you remain strong, beautiful and valuable. That’s worth saying plainly, because menopause at work is too often treated as something to push through quietly, rather than something to be supported through openly.

Why does this matter to us specifically?

Look at the Kintota team and you’ll notice something quickly: it’s a workforce made up overwhelmingly of women. Walk through our own team roster, from client managers through to personal support assistants, and the great majority of names you’ll find are women’s names.

That means menopause isn’t a topic we can afford to treat as background noise. It’s something a large proportion of our own staff are living through, while they’re also supporting clients through their own hard days, and it deserves the same attention we’d give any other part of someone’s wellbeing.

We hold ourselves to six values, and two of them speak directly to this. Respect: “we treat all individuals with dignity and respect, valuing their unique perspectives and experiences.” And wellbeing: “we prioritise the wellbeing of our clients and staff, promoting a positive and supportive environment that fosters both physical and mental health.” Neither of those stops at a client’s front door. Both apply just as much to the person delivering the support.

Kintota has picked up recognition beyond the day-to-day, too — winning the West Country Women Awards’ Small Business of the Year in 2023 and again in 2024. It isn’t an award specifically for how we treat our people, but it’s still a reminder that how a workplace treats the people in it doesn’t go unnoticed.

What if you manage a team, rather than being part of one?

The same values apply the other way round. Empowerment — believing in someone’s potential and giving them the encouragement and opportunity to keep growing — doesn’t pause because a colleague is going through a hard few months. If anything, that’s when it matters most: a flexible shift, a quiet word, the space to say “today’s a bad day” without it being a whole conversation.

What does this look like in a caring profession specifically?

Support work already asks a lot of the people who do it — early starts, physical work, emotionally demanding visits, and a genuine investment in the people they support. Add menopause symptoms on top of that, unspoken, and it’s easy to see how someone could end up managing two hard things at once, alone, when one conversation could have made a real difference to how the day went.

That’s exactly why we’d rather this was talked about too much than too little.

What should you do if menopause is affecting you at work?

Start with the practical five: movement, food, sleep, stress management, and a proper conversation with your doctor. And talk to your employer. If you’re part of the Kintota team, or thinking about joining it, our staff journey sets out what support looks like from your first day onward.

Your body may change. What you’re worth to the people you support doesn’t.