A surprising number of millennial and Gen X workers are switching careers due to menopause

Menopause impacts 47 million women a year, resulting in $150 billion in lost productivity. Yet menopause continues to be shrouded in silence and shame, with few employers providing support to employees.

Telehealth company Maven Clinic surveyed 1,050 millennials and Gen Xers with perimenopause and menopausal symptoms to better understand their experience. Here are the key findings:

• Menopause can impact performance: A third of millennials and a quarter of Gen Xers who have experienced menopause say their work has been impacted. Nearly one in six millennials whose work has been impacted by menopause symptoms have switched to less-demanding careers, nearly 30% have avoided taking on new projects, and nearly 20% have not been able to do in-person work.
• People are not getting help: Some 60% of millennials and 35% of Gen Xers say they have not talked about their symptoms with a healthcare provider. About 30% of millennials say this is because they can’t take time away from work.
• Employers can make a difference: Around 30% of millennials and Gen Xers say they don’t feel like they have support at work around managing symptoms. More than three-quarters of millennials say that receiving menopause benefits would impact their desire to keep working for their current employer.

“Though millennials are relatively new to menopause, their problems are not,” said Dr. Neel Shah, chief medical officer of Maven Clinic. “They join Gen X in discovering how poorly equipped both the modern workplace and doctor’s office are to ease this life transition.”