Experiences of menopause amongst LJMU staff: A qualitative study.

Abstract

Background: Menopause is a natural biological process that occurs in people as they age and marks the end of their reproductive years; it is a gender-specific life stage that affects a certain percentage of the workforce and discussions around menopause in the workplace are becoming increasingly important as more women continue to work beyond the age of 50. However, most organisations do not view menopause and its related challenges as an issue. Employees are often afraid to speak up for fear of discrimination and being branded as problematic. Evidence has shown that menopause can impact quality of life in different ways. This study aims to explore the menopausal experiences of staff at LJMU.

Methods: A qualitative approach was used to gather data from eight participants employed at LJMU who were experiencing menopause. Participants (mean age 52) were purposively sampled, and semi-structured face-to-face and online interviews were conducted. The main themes were identified through reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: The result shows that most participants were unaware the symptoms experienced were menopause related. Several symptoms such as, hot flushes, fatigue, brain fog, and mood swings, which led to anxiety, and depression, causing a lot of discomfort and shame. Additionally, these symptoms impaired participants' ability to concentrate while teaching. Among the key challenges identified in this study were office layout without ventilation and a lack of support and understanding from colleagues and managers. In managing symptoms, most participants reported using hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and others indicated self-medication with herbs. The study found that despite having a policy on menopause at LJMU, participants were generally unaware of it.

Conclusion: This research contributes to knowledge on menopause by providing insights into the experiences of menopausal people as there remains a knowledge gap from an organisational perspective on the actual health condition, behaviours, and challenges of those going through menopause, particularly in a university environment. More efforts are needed to increase awareness of menopause and its related policies at LJMU, providing maximum support that meets the unique needs of menopausal people within the workforce, gender equality in career progression, increased productivity, and job satisfaction.