HR leaders warn unaddressed menopause symptoms fuel disengagement and attrition – and off-the-shelf support falls short
Menopause in the workplace remains one of the most overlooked causes of disengagement and attrition among experienced women, according to Amalie Pietersz, head of people and culture at aged care operator Castalia Group. She says that when nobody deals with symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog, skilled women quietly drift out of work, and employers end up paying for it.
The Australasian Menopause Society (AMS) shares the concern. Its president, Dr Christina Jang, says menopause “remains an issue that is too often overlooked in the workplace”, even though its symptoms can wear down women’s confidence, wellbeing and ability to do their jobs.
For Castalia Group, the issue is far from abstract. Around 80 per cent of the company’s portfolio is aged care and most of its workforce is female. Many staff are casual or part-time shift workers aged from their late 30s to their 60s, which puts them squarely in the perimenopause and menopause age range.
“I would say that this is very topical for us because it probably impacts about 60 per cent of our female workforce, which is huge,” Pietersz says.
Even so, the conversation has barely started. “Menopause is just something that has not been spoken about,” she says. “It’s been a bit of a hush-hush, or there’s a ridiculous level of discomfort around it.”
How menopause symptoms hit performance and retention
Pietersz describes a predictable chain reaction when women get no support with their symptoms: “Firstly, disengagement followed by possibly attrition followed by performance management, which is the go-to unfortunately in HR circles.” Then the employer recruits again, “and you’ve lost all of that, those years of experience.”
Research supports what she has seen. A cross-sectional study of 407 women at an Irish teaching hospital, published in Occupational Medicine in 2023, looked at how often each symptom affected women at work.
More than half the time, respondents were affected by fatigue (54 per cent), difficulty sleeping (47 per cent), poor concentration (44 per cent) and poor memory (40 per cent). Some 65 per cent said symptoms had hurt their work performance, and 18 per cent had taken sick leave.
Closer to home, the South Australian Office for Women’s 2025 Menopause Awareness in the Workplace summary has three key figures:
- 83 per cent of women have at least one symptom that affects their work
- 13 per cent have quit a job because of their symptoms
- Menopause costs Australian organisations $10 billion in replacement costs alone
Those numbers fit with a recent poll finding that 97 per cent of women hide their menopause symptoms at work.
“When employers fail to recognise menopause as a legitimate workplace health and wellbeing issue, they risk losing talented, experienced and highly capable women from their workforce,” Jang says. “Women who feel unsupported may reduce their hours, take additional sick leave, lose confidence in their abilities or ultimately leave the workforce.”
Why stigma keeps women silent
Pietersz traces much of the silence back to the old stereotype of the “whiny woman”. As women move into senior roles, she says, many are keen to distance themselves from hormones and mood swings rather than feed that stereotype.
That hurts the leadership pipeline. “If you’re afraid to talk about it, if you somehow feel like you need to whisper instead of speak, you’re going to self-select, aren’t you?” she says. The pattern lines up with data showing women in their 40s are stepping back from work after record-high participation.
She also questions whether gender equality efforts, including Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reporting, go far enough. “There’s a huge focus with trying to balance the scales, but what are we actually doing to understand half of this workforce that you are trying to balance?”
Pietersz has been open about her own experience, including with her CEO. “Some days you’ll get me and I’ll be at my A-game and other days I’ll just be a bit off colour,” she told him. “I think it’s important to just normalise the conversations.”
What can employers do to support menopause at work?
Pietersz says the first step is to ask employees what they need. She is critical of generic Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that employers buy mainly to show they have something in place.
“We buy something off the shelf and we issue it out to the employees to say, guess what? This is free. Go for it. Enjoy,” she says. “We don’t necessarily go and ask them, is this adding any value to you?”
There is clear demand for something better. During Menopause Awareness Month, Castalia Group’s EAP provider, Converge International, ran a menopause in the workplace seminar. It was booked out before her team could register. Pietersz is now talking with the AMS about building menopause support into Castalia Group’s employee wellbeing offering.
The AMS recommends three things: build menopause support into workplace policies and practices, raise awareness through training, and design those policies together with staff.
“We know that equipping managers and leaders to have open discussions with colleagues is important,” Jang says. “There is a raft of strategies workplaces can employ, and from our experience having these co-designed with staff experiencing menopause produce the best results.”
The Irish study points to the same priorities. Respondents ranked manager awareness and flexible working hours as the most useful supports, each chosen first by 29 per cent. Yet 57 per cent said their managers lacked awareness, and 31 per cent wanted to raise their symptoms with a manager but didn’t feel comfortable doing so.
Practical changes don’t have to be expensive. The Office for Women summary suggests breathable uniforms, desk fans and later starts after a poor night’s sleep. It also recommends adding menopause to existing policies rather than writing new ones, which is a reminder that menopause support must outlast awareness month campaigns.
