Why it’s crucial to discuss and understand menopause in the workplace

The ‘M’ word is far more common in conversation than it was ten, or even five, years ago. Yet in most workplaces it is still treated as an awkward subject, a personal matter that women are expected to deal with quietly.

Property is no exception. We design buildings around wellbeing, but when it comes to our own teams, menopause is too often left unspoken. In a recent Women in PBSA survey, 73% of respondents said it is rarely or never discussed at work. For a long time, I was one of the people saying nothing.

Seniority doesn’t protect you

My perimenopause began before lockdown, brought on early by surgery in 2018. I had followed Davina McCall’s coverage of menopause, so I thought I was prepared.

What I hadn’t expected was the scale of it: mood changes, sleepless nights, hot flushes day and night, and blackout periods where I couldn’t account for chunks of time. Brain fog and word-finding still catch me out today. Then came the symptom that really threw me: for the first time in my career, I had imposter syndrome.

I was a senior operations leader in an established business. I kept performing, but it took far more effort. I don’t recall a menopause policy, and nobody in the office was talking about it. I never asked for adjustments because I didn’t know I could. The burden of finding support sat with me, at exactly the point I was least able to carry it.

Good support shouldn’t be a lottery

Lockdown finally gave me the space to call my GP. I was lucky to get one experienced in perimenopause, who talked me through my options and monitored me properly, and I kept pushing for answers rather than accepting the first response. A WhatsApp group with friends also helped me more than my employer did at the time.

But good support shouldn’t come down to luck. Half of the survey respondents with symptoms did not seek support, and not knowing it existed was among the main reasons. Employers can’t fix the NHS, but they can make sure nobody has to rely on chance to find out what help is available.

Why property can’t afford to stay quiet

Property has worked hard to bring more women into senior roles, and many are now reaching menopause at the height of their careers. In the Women in PBSA survey, 41% of those with symptoms reported a significant impact on their work, and 78% of respondents believe menopause could affect career progression. If we don’t support these women, we risk losing the experience we have spent years building.

Our sector also has particular pressures. In rental living and student accommodation, many staff work on site, often with long shifts, little privacy and limited control over temperature or breaks.

Regulation is moving too. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers with 250 or more staff can now publish menopause action plans, and from spring 2027 this becomes mandatory. Property businesses should treat that as a floor, not a ceiling.

Don’t wait to be asked

A policy on its own isn’t enough. What matters is whether people know it exists, and whether managers raise it without waiting to be asked. If you can’t recognise what you are experiencing, you can’t ask for help.

For property businesses, that means talking about it openly, telling people what adjustments are available, and applying the thinking we use for residents’ comfort to our own offices and on-site teams. It also means backing peer networks such as Women in PBSA, which I recently joined and have already spoken on a panel about this topic.

The contrast is the proof

Today I am on HRT long term. I still have days where finding the right words can be difficult and broken sleep, but it is manageable. I now hold a leadership role in a fast-growing business where I feel genuinely supported, and my imposter syndrome has largely subsided.

I couldn’t talk about this at the time. I can now, partly because the people around me made it possible. If you manage people in property, you can do that for someone. You don’t need all the answers. You just need to make clear it’s OK to bring it up.

Property has started talking about menopause. Now it needs to act on it.