More than eight in 10 women say hormonal health has impacted their working life, according to newly published research.
The survey, which was commissioned by the Menopause Hub and Core Research, involved a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 women across different age groups. Almost half of those with experience of menopause (49 per cent) said it impacted attendance, while 36 per cent said they did not disclose health issues to their employers because there were no clear policies in place.
Niamh Wade, a Dublin-based solicitor, says stage-four endometriosis has consistently impacted her working life, although it took years before her severe and wide-ranging symptoms were properly diagnosed.
Wade has struggled with debilitating health symptoms since her teens, including chronic bowel problems, fatigue, severe period pain and bleeding. She suspected endometriosis might be at the heart of it all before a doctor finally diagnosed the condition, which involves tissue similar to that found in the lining of the womb growing outside the uterus. Support group Endo Ireland says it affects about 155,000 women and girls in Ireland.
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When she got her diagnosis, she recalls, “I went down into the car park and the tears just flowed. I had just been told I needed major surgery but the bigger thing was the relief. I thought: ‘My god, I wasn’t crazy in my head. I was right all along.’”
Wade, who previously worked in hospitality, journalism, marketing and law, says that through countless appointments with doctors, her many different symptoms tended to be viewed in isolation – and even after a long list of diagnostic tests, no real connection was made. She recalls one female GP responding to her chronic fatigue – so bad, she thought she might have narcolepsy – with the observation, “We can’t all be full of energy all of the time.”
Wade says the problems the condition caused were central to her leaving one white-collar job where time off sick gave rise to tensions and soured the working relationship.
She now works for her family’s solicitors’ firm, Pearts, where, she says, she is in the privileged position of being able to exert more control over the hours she works. She generally takes Wednesdays off to spend on wellness, “just so I don’t crash again, because management of the condition is very important”.
The challenges are compounded by having since been diagnosed with Adenomyosis - the growth of tissue from the inner lining of the uterus in its muscle wall which can cause the organ to double or more in size - and Fibroids. Adenomyosis, she suggests, is the “evil cousin of Endometriosis.
“So I’m up and down and trying to manage,” she says. “There are definitely times of the month when my energy is a lot worse, and the mornings are harder. I eat very well but there are still things I could be doing better. I know I probably shouldn’t drink coffee, or alcohol, but then I think: ‘I’ve got to live my life as well.’”
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Loretta Dignam, founder and chief executive at the Menopause Hub, says a good deal of progress has been made in workplace policies on reproductive and hormonal health issues, with employer groups and trade unions among those to run educational campaigns. There remains a lot of work to do, she says.
She believes Wade’s experience in relation to endometriosis is far from unique and says menstrual health, fertility and menopause are also huge issues for women in the workplace, requiring greater understanding and attention.
“Most workplaces, including the white-collar office spaces, were designed by men for men,” says Dignam, who previously worked in the corporate sector. “The fact they are beginning to at least talk about these issues now shows some progress has been made.”
