How to open up workplace discussions on infertility, miscarriage and menopause
PwC has unveiled its enhanced policy of allowing paid time off for fertility treatment, which includes the numerous appointments and consultations which form part of this process.
Fertility benefits are also being adopted at pace and companies including Centrica, NatWest, Cooley and Clifford Chance are now providing much-needed support for the issues surrounding infertility; in some cases this includes financial reimbursement of treatment.
Several other firms have come forward to say they are offering workplace support for women going through the menopause.
Introducing these policy changes and benefits is helping these companies to show that they are inclusive and family-friendly, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on both attracting and retaining employees. However, this is only a first step; there is always more to be done in terms of creating a truly open work environment where employees will begin to feel comfortable sharing their personal journeys.
Education, Education, Education
Having a new policy in place will only work if everyone in the organisation understands why it is there and how they need to play their part.
Line managers need to have specialist training to understand the complexities of infertility, pregnancy loss and menopause, and how these issues may affect their teams.
Many people are surprised to learn that fertility issues affect one in six couples or that one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage. With the changing demographic of women in the workplace, more and more will be experiencing the menopause at work and the symptoms can be debilitating.
If individual employees going through any of these issues don’t feel their line manager understands, the lines of communication quickly break down.
Likewise, education should be offered across the whole business. If employees can better understand what their colleagues might be going through, it helps create a more open and supportive culture. Informal sessions, such as lunch and learn groups, should take place three or four times a year to help bring the topics to the fore and raise awareness across an organisation.
Set up a network or advocacy group
Many large businesses have set up dedicated advocacy groups to help improve the level of support given to people experiencing reproductive health issues. These have proven to be very successful. Smaller businesses can also benefit from having this internal forum to share ideas and open up lines of communication with the leadership team. Even companies with a remote workforce can establish online discussion groups to help share ideas on improving company culture to make it more open and inclusive.
Ensure offerings are truly inclusive
Reproductive health will most likely affect all of us at some stage of our lives. However, it’s important to ensure that no-one is unintentionally overlooked, when it comes to designing an inclusive benefit offering.
Fertility issues don’t just affect heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples will need additional support for donor conception, surrogacy or adoption. All of these alternative paths to parenthood involve multiple appointments and checks, which can mean a long and fraught journey.
Single women, too, may have serious concerns about their future fertility and wish to pursue fertility preservation which involves an intrusive medical procedure.
Pregnancy loss has its complexities as well; there are many devastating reasons why a pregnancy may fail. The Co-Op is a shining example of a pregnancy loss policy which is really well thought-out and has accounted for a wide range of scenarios. It is surely only a matter of time before more and more will follow suit.
Menopause isn’t all about hot flushes and irritability; there’s the perimenopause stage which can hit as soon as the early 40s and the symptoms of both these life stages can be wide-ranging and highly problematic.
Reproductive health needs to be looked at holistically, to ensure that every demographic group is represented and that a good level of both support and awareness is available. Done right, the rewards can be immense; not least of all resulting in a happier, healthier and more productive workforce.
This article is provided by Fertifa.
Supplied by REBA Associate Member, Fertifa
Fertifa is the UK’s leading fertility and reproductive health benefits provider.
