Sleepless nights, concentration problems, anxiety or feeling overwhelmed at work. Menopause affects all women as they approach middle age, sometimes with severe symptoms. 15 Minutes magazine was interested in the period that one in eight women in the world will have passed by 2025.
“Anxiety, memory problems… and over time, you become a kind of functioning zombie and you tell yourself it’s not possible.” Catherine is a nurse at CHUV and, at the age of 51, agreed to talk about the problems she experiences during peri-menopause, the period that precedes the permanent cessation of her periods. She was 45 years old then.
For Virginie, this same period gave rise to anxiety attacks. “It had a much wider impact than the body. In fact, it affects the emotions, the professional life, even the people around you, because you feel a little different, excluded, you’re vulnerable.” These symptoms forced her to undergo behavioral therapy and reduce her work hours.
For these women who experience the most severe effects of menopause or peri-menopause, managing occupational activity quickly becomes difficult. “I was doing what I had to do to ensure safety, but I wasn’t performing as well as I used to,” says Catherine.
A 2020 British study conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CDIP) showed that productivity losses associated with menopause could reach 150 billion francs per year globally.
In Switzerland, in 2023, the first study conducted on menopause at work, showed that 70% of women experience fever and fatigue. “Mental fog” affects 68% of women in Switzerland during menopause. A statistic that forces some companies to worry about it.
The same study showed that a third of women hid their symptoms from their superiors. Catherine didn’t dare to talk about it at first: “I can’t imagine saying: I can no longer take care of more complex patients because I can’t sleep, I have memory lapses and I have anxiety.”
The women we met talked about the stigma attached to these symptoms that hindered professional abilities. Virginie had to reduce her working hours, even starting a support group in association with ward volunteering: “Peri-menopause without inhibition“
And Catherine insists: “Employers must create a space where women are heard and where we can create a working environment where women do not fear retaliation or judgement.”
The Condis SA company in Rosens (FR) has 24 qualified workers who work on the production of components for electrical networks. “At the moment when the labor shortage is (significant), it is difficult to find people,” underlines director of human resources Vania Gómez. Hence the management started a workshop led by trainer Joel Zingraff to create awareness among its staff – male and female – about the issue of menopause.
Other groups like Nestlé are interested in it. Roche and UBS have also started initiatives in this direction.
“A person who has 30 years of experience, which requires a little rearranging of their schedule over the course of life, will be more efficient. It’s a win-win for everyone,” Catherine concludes.
Cédric Guigon / Sophie Iselin
This is a new record that scientists from the Korea Fusion Energy Institute (KFE) have…
Damages associated with drought, floods, hail and other increasingly violent events are expected to increase…
An estimated 9 million people in the United States are still waiting for their final…
The death of seven humanitarian workers from the American NGO World Central Kitchen in an…
Today, at one o'clock in the morning, Gamer updates it Boutique de Fortnite Through the…
The Basic Instinct and Casino actress looks back at a time in Hollywood when adapting…