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In this chapter, we discuss menopause transition in the workplace and its implications for workplace well-being. This is an important work-life interface topic, given the increasing number of women who will work during transition. It is also a topic that we currently know relatively little about, particularly in relation to well-being. We present findings that demonstrate both that many women experience symptoms that are bothersome at work and that these frequently have negative effects for two elements of workplace well-being, job satisfaction and health well-being. We evidence that individual/job characteristics and workplace context can either improve or worsen experiences of transition symptoms and make recommendations on how organization and HR practice can be designed to support women in menopause transition. We argue that working with line managers to create a more supportive context is one of the most important strategies to implement. Our research is situated in the UK police service and has wider relevance across the Global North, where similar demographic patterns are experienced, and in other male-dominated organizations and sectors.

Menopause discourse plays a powerful cultural role in the west, serving to mark a (negative) shift in women's social status, shaping both social norms and women's self-appraisals and dividing women's lifecourse into two: fertile and post-fertile, with value attributed only to the former. However, in 2019 a new ‘solution’ to the problem of menopause entered public discourse in the form of a new surgical technology, offered by the private health provider ProFam, to delay menopause via ovarian freezing techniques. Aimed in the first instance at women seeking to avoid the disruptions of severe symptoms, it also quickly became framed as a way in which (especially childless) women might extend their fertility. In this chapter I explore menopause discourse as it appears in medical and popular sources associated with this new technology, looking at the continuities and discontinuities with earlier forms of menopause discourse. I also take a broader view in placing technologies for delaying menopause in the context of reproductive technologies used by women at all stages of the lifecourse, critically examining the claims that they give women choice, freedom and control over time. I suggest that in fact they are implicated with rather more complex temporal structures, captured in the concept of ‘ambivalence’ and characterised by a mixture of gendered expectation, anticipation and suspension of agency. Finally, I explore whether it is menopause itself, rather than its delay, that, in serving to disrupt such temporal ambivalence among other things, can in fact introduce the possibility of freedom.

Attitudes, experiences and knowledge about menopause are relevant, especially when menopause starts earlier than expected. This study aims to examine women who underwent this transition “early” and “on-time” according to these factors.

The sample included 117 women, 69 with “on-time” and 48 with premature menopause. Participants completed three questionnaires.

Women with premature menopause had a better understanding of it but more negative attitudes and a higher incidence of physical and psychological symptoms, although they indicated greater feelings of control over their symptoms. Moreover, “early” menopause women appeared to exhibit greater anxiety.

Results underscore the need to inform women about menopause as a natural developmental process.

This paper shows the menopause as a difficult transition especially for women with early menopause.

This study aims to estimate the prevalence of individuals receiving hormone therapy for menopause management and the prevalence of underlying conditions that may constrain options for pharmacologic menopause management in the prison context.

This study reviewed all prescriptions dispensed by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016, for relevance to menopause management. Relevant medications were those either recommended for menopause management or those indicated for management of conditions that may complicate menopause management, as per the 2015 clinical decision-support algorithm tool developed by the North American Menopause Society. Analysis was restricted to women between the ages of 45 and 75.

Of 1,120 women, a majority (77.8%) were between the ages of 45 and 54. Less than 5% of individuals in this study were prescribed estrogen-containing therapy. The most commonly prescribed medications that may constrain options for menopause treatment were related to hypertension and other cardiovascular disease or mental health conditions.

The retrospective nature of this data set limits the findings, given that researchers did not have access to diagnoses or data on polypharmacy. Still, this study indicates that many women over 45 experiencing incarceration are living with health conditions that may complicate menopause symptom management with hormone therapy. Future research in carceral settings must examine the prevalence of menopause-related symptoms as well as access to and quality of comprehensive menopause management.

There is a paucity of literature around the menopause-related needs of individuals experiencing incarceration. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other research has examined prevalence of pharmacologic menopause management among women who are incarcerated.

Women are typically reluctant to disclose menopause-related problems that may affect their working lives to line managers. Consequently, support may not be offered nor potential solutions explored. The purpose of this paper is to examine how working menopausal women would prefer to have conversations about the menopause at work.

Using semi-structured telephone interviews working menopausal women (aged 45–60 years) were asked about their experiencing of talking about their menopause at work, and how helpful conversations might be initiated and conducted. Transcripts were analyzed thematically to identify factors that may facilitate or hinder such conversations.

Two themes emerged: first, organizational context. Facilitators included an open culture with friendly relationships, a knowledgeable and proactive manager, organization-wide awareness of the menopause and aging, and access to a nominated woman to discuss problems. Barriers included male-dominated workplaces, male line managers, fear of negative responses, stigma, discrimination, embarrassment or believing menopause is inappropriate to discuss at work; second, the nature of the discussion. Facilitators included managers demonstrating an understanding and acceptance of a woman’s experience, jointly seeking acceptable solutions, respecting privacy and confidentiality, and appropriate use of humor, as opposed to being dismissive and using inappropriate body language. Discussions with suitable persons at work were preferred and being prepared was advised. The women in the sample advised having discussions with appropriate persons and being prepared.

These findings could inform training programs, workplace policies and practice.

This study provides insights to help women and their managers discuss menopause-related difficulties at work and seek solutions together.

The research investigated how women with learning disabilities understand and experience the menopause, and the support available. This paper Reports the experiences and attitudes of those people to whom women with learning disabilities might turn for support. GPs generally Reported relatively little experience in treating women with learning disabilities for menopause‐related symptoms and some recognised the need for pro‐active work. Carers played a key role in facilitating women's access to primary health care. Staff in residential and day services recognised the role they played in supporting women through the menopause, but were hampered by lack of time and resources. Mothers of middle‐aged women with learning disabilities who still lived at home felt well‐placed to support their daughters through the menopause and viewed this transition positively. The need for specialist educational materials was emphasised by all those who took part in this research.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of these experiences on the authors’ work and on the authors.

Following the publication of the report, the authors undertook collective, autoethnographic memory work that forms the empirical body of the argument. This is presented in 13 vignettes.

The authors found themselves continually traversing.

The paper analyses the challenges of researching what is a universal experience for women yet also a taboo subject. It discusses the relevant implications for and possible effects on researchers who investigate such topics in organisation and work studies and elsewhere.

Menopause experiences as they connect to work are under-researched per se. The paper extends knowledge of how this research area is not only shaped by researchers but has an impact on those researchers.

If you are 30 or older, you are middle‐aged by someone's criteria. When the college students of the 1970s declared “Don't trust anyone over 30,” did you think they would be someday talking about you? And what about those who say “Life begins at 40”? Did you ever believe them?