Menopause and big trucks – Caterpillar UK takes up wellbeing in the workplace challenge

Heavy vehicle manufacturer Caterpillar UK hosts a meeting of 30 occupational health and HR practitioners this month to address one of the hottest topics in the workplace.

The delegates will be challenging the male-dominated world of big trucks to take women’s hormonal health seriously.

It follows mounting evidence that menopause has a bigger impact on them – and the men they work and live with – than has previously been acknowledged by employers.

The session is being organised by the North East Occupational Nurses Group (NEON) at the US-owned company’s Peterlee site, one of three in the North East with around 1,000 mostly male staff. It will be run by the UK’s only menopause in the workplace training providers, Simply Hormones.

Justine Green, NEON coordinator and Caterpillar’s in-house occupational health advisor at Peterlee, said: “Only a fifth of the workforce here is female, but many of the men have partners who are going through the menopause at home and their lives can be seriously impacted by it.

“If they are coming into work exhausted by their partner’s disrupted sleep patterns, for example, then it’s a health and wellbeing issue for us. There’s a huge reluctance to talk about it, though. And that’s what we need to change.”

As many as eight million women in the UK are going through the menopause and a third suffer symptoms at work, according to the British Menopause Society. But only half have sought healthcare advice, let alone discussed it with their employer.

Kathryn Colas, an author and authority on women’s health, who founded Simply Hormones workplace training, said: “If women are embarrassed to talk about it, imagine how men feel. They can be just as worried and confused about what is happening to their partner, but have nowhere to go for advice. That’s why it’s important every employer takes a grown up attitude to talking about the impact of menopause and putting supportive policies in place.

“There are many things employers can do to help women. Simple things, like making sure there is sufficient ventilation – be it a fan on the desk or access to windows that open – to alleviate the hot flushes many women suffer; perhaps rethinking the design of uniforms that can become suffocatingly hot during the menopause; and taking a more flexible attitude to working hours and additional toilet breaks. These could help improve the lives of millions of working women.

“But just as important is letting all their staff – both men and women – know they can talk to their HR team or occupational health advisor and get the information and advice they need.”

…End… 13 June 2017