At some point in our careers we will all be working with someone who is experiencing the menopause. With menopausal aged women the fastest growing demographic in the workplace we have signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge to demonstrate our commitment to talking positively in the firm about the menopause and actively supporting our people.

Our firm wide training session, supported by Kerry Lee from Laughology, shared some keys tips all workplaces can implement to better support colleagues. Read this summary or watch the video below.

Listen to your colleagues: Provide a space for your people to openly discuss their symptoms with others who may be in a similar place. This helps people feel listened to and not isolated in their experiences. Everyone has an individual experience of the menopause and there are over 34 symptoms and counting. At Burges Salmon we have a menopause café, which is an open forum for anyone to join and discuss their experiences and concerns. We also encourage all our line managers to have regular conversations with colleagues around health and wellbeing, with active listening at the heart of the process.

Empower yourself with knowledge: Menopause has up until recently been seen as taboo subject, but knowledge empowers managers and people. Utilise and advertise resources such as Menopause Matters that allow understanding to be built. Resources can also support individuals in identifying and accessing medical support. Our gender balance network BBalanced hosted a firm wide learning session to encourage our people to understand the wide variety of menopausal symptoms and effects and learn how to support colleagues, friends and family.

Be flexible: Having an open and supportive culture can give people the confidence to disclose their experiences. Managers can then work with individuals to provide adjustments if they are wanted. This could be anything from a desk fan, access to GP support or flexi-working arrangements. At Burges Salmon we have provided our line managers with menopause support guidance to help them hold these conversations and improve the experience of our people.