Workplace Menopause Support
Understanding menopause is important. Knowing how to respond is what makes the difference.
I help organisations move beyond awareness by giving managers the confidence, language and practical understanding to support women well.
My workplace sessions are shaped by two perspectives. Every week I support women through menopause with nutrition, health coaching and behaviour change. I also bring experience of leading people and balancing individual needs with organisational priorities. Bringing those two perspectives together makes the learning practical, realistic and immediately usable.
Most managers don't want another policy. They want to know they're responding well when someone comes to them.
Understanding menopause is the first step. What changes workplace culture is knowing how to respond with confidence, empathy and practical support. That's the difference organisations are increasingly looking for and it's the difference this work is designed to make.
The women moving through perimenopause and menopause right now are often among the most experienced people in their organisations. They're in senior roles, managing teams, carrying institutional knowledge built over decades. And a significant number of them are managing symptoms at work without adequate support, without disclosure and without confidence that their workplace would respond well if they did speak up.
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17%
considered leaving work due to a lack of support
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67%
say symptoms negatively affect their work
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204
menopause-related employment tribunal claims reported in 2024
The data is striking. A meaningful number of women reduce their hours, step back from promotions, or leave roles altogether because of symptoms they could otherwise have managed - with the right support and understanding in place.
The most commonly reported symptoms in a workplace context - fatigue, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, disrupted sleep and hot flushes - affect focus, confidence and performance in ways that are both real and poorly understood by most managers.
The barrier is rarely a lack of care. Most managers, asked directly, want to support their people well. The barrier is knowledge, language, and confidence. They don't know enough about menopause to recognise it. They don't have the language to open a conversation. They worry about saying the wrong thing, or inadvertently making things worse.
Awareness matters, but awareness alone rarely changes workplace culture. Lasting change comes when managers feel confident enough to act differently and employees feel safe enough to have the conversation. Supporting women through menopause keeps this work grounded in what's actually happening in people's day-to-day lives, not just in guidance documents - and that's what shapes an approach that sits alongside good workplace practice, rather than replacing it.
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Grounded in real experience
Because I continue supporting women through menopause every week, my workplace education reflects the realities women are living - not just what's written in guidance.
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Building manager confidence
I understand the realities managers face balancing individual needs with organisational priorities, and I help them respond with confidence rather than uncertainty.
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Turning awareness into action
By combining evidence-informed education with behaviour change principles, I help organisations turn awareness into confident everyday practice.
How I Help Organisations
Support Women Through Menopause
If you'd like a sense of how I work, this short video explains why understanding menopause is only the first step- and how helping managers know how to respond can make a meaningful difference for both employees and organisations.
“We had an incredible experience with Phillipa Jacobs-Smith the Menopause Health Coach for our International Women’s Day session at 40 Leadenhall, I highly recommend this as we had a workshop that was focused on Menopause, Work & Wellbeing, it was a great hit with our audience, thank you again Phillipa”
– Hassan Yassin, 40Leadenhall Wellbeing Manager
The LISTEN™ Framework
This isn't a framework built in a training room. It's grown out of real conversations with women working through menopause and with the managers trying to support them well. It's designed to help managers move from understanding menopause to responding with confidence in everyday conversations.
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LISTEN WITH CURIOSITY
Supporting an employee going through menopause starts with listening - genuinely and without assumptions. Every woman's experience is different. What one person needs from their workplace may be very different from what another needs. Curiosity and openness create the conditions for honest conversation.
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IDENTIFY WHAT SUPPORT MAY HELP
Once a conversation has opened, the question becomes: what would actually be useful? This might be a practical adjustment - flexible start times, access to a cooler workspace, permission to take breaks when needed. It might be signposting to occupational health or Employee Assistance Programmes. It might be simply being believed and not having to explain everything from scratch.
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SUPPORT WITHOUT ASSUMPTIONS
Menopause presents very differently in different women. Some experience severe symptoms; others much milder ones. Some will want to discuss it openly; others will prefer discretion. Effective support means responding to what the individual actually needs - not applying a blanket policy or making assumptions based on age or presentation.
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TALK OPENLY AND RESPECTFULLY
Normalising menopause as a workplace topic takes practice. The first few conversations are usually the hardest. Language matters - how the subject is raised, how questions are asked, how confidentiality is handled. This framework gives managers and HR professionals a foundation for getting that language right.
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ENCOURAGE PRACTICAL ADJUSTMENTS
Reasonable adjustments for menopause don't require significant resources. Temperature control, flexible working, access to cold water and toilet facilities, adjusted workload during acute symptom periods - many of the most helpful adjustments are simple, low-cost, and already within a manager's gift. Knowing what to suggest- and how to suggest it, makes a significant practical difference.
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NORMALISE MENOPAUSE CONVERSATIONS
The long-term goal is a workplace culture where menopause doesn't need to be a difficult topic - where it's simply understood as a normal life stage that some employees will move through, and where asking for support doesn't require courage. Normalisation doesn't happen in one training session. It builds over time, through consistent language, visible leadership commitment- and managers who are confident enough to hold the conversation.
Workplace support options
Ways we can work together
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Raise Awareness
Evidence-informed awareness sessions
Build understanding of menopause at work through engaging, practical sessions that help employees recognise symptoms, understand their impact and feel more confident supporting colleagues.
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Build Manager Confidence
Manager training using the LISTEN™ Framework
Practical training that gives managers the confidence, language and framework to respond appropriately, have supportive conversations and understand reasonable workplace adjustments.
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Develop Your Workplace Approach
Strategic guidance for organisations
Support for organisations wanting to move beyond awareness by developing a practical, consistent approach to menopause education alongside existing HR policies and workplace practice.
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Speaking & Collaborations
Conferences, events and professional networks
Evidence-informed keynote presentations, conference sessions and awareness talks that translate menopause research into practical workplace understanding for professional audiences.
What's available
I help organisations build understanding, confidence and practical ways of supporting women through menopause. My work combines evidence-informed education with behaviour change principles to help translate awareness into everyday practice.
All sessions can be delivered online or in person, depending on what works for your organisation.
Raise awareness that leads to confident action across your organisation
An evidence-informed presentation on menopause - what it is, how it affects people at work and what supportive workplaces do differently.
Awareness is the starting point. The aim is to give people the confidence to recognise menopause, talk about it appropriately and know how to respond supportively. These sessions are informative without being clinical, accessible to all genders and ages, and structured to leave people with a clearer understanding of what menopause involves and why it matters in the workplace.
Talks can be delivered to whole organisations, specific teams, employee network groups, or leadership and senior management cohorts.
Formats available:
-45-minute awareness talk with Q&A
-60-minute extended session with more detailed content
-Lunchtime or half-day event format
Suitable for:
All-staff wellbeing sessions, INSET days, EDI programme events, professional network talks, conference speaking slots, HR team briefings.
Build Manager
Confidence
A focused session for managers and team leaders, giving them the knowledge, language, and practical framework to support employees going through menopause with confidence and care.
This session uses the LISTEN™ Framework as its structure and covers: what menopause is and how it presents; what managers are and aren't expected to do; how to respond to disclosure; what reasonable adjustments typically look like; and how to avoid the most common mistakes.
It is designed specifically to reduce the anxiety many managers feel about this topic - replacing uncertainty with a clear, proportionate approach.
Managers don't need to become menopause experts. They need the confidence to have supportive conversations and know where appropriate support begins.
Formats available:
-90-minute focused session
-Half-day workshop with group discussion and practical exercises
-Leadership briefing format for senior teams
Suitable for:
Line managers, team leaders, HR business partners, senior leadership teams, people managers at all levels.
Developing Your Workplace Approach
For organisations wanting to move beyond a one-off session and develop a more confident and consistent approach to menopause support.
This is a developing area of my work. It can currently include: a review of existing policy and practice; guidance on what a workplace menopause framework typically includes; recommendations for further training or resource development; and support with communicating an approach to employees.
This is not legal or HR consultancy and does not constitute employment law advice. Organisations developing formal menopause policies should work alongside qualified HR and legal professionals. My role is to inform and advise on the menopause education dimension - not to replace specialist HR or legal input.
If you're not sure whether this is the right fit for what your organisation needs, a short initial conversation is the best starting point.
Speaking, Awareness Talks & Collaborations
I speak regularly on menopause - to professional audiences, HR teams, employee networks, and community organisations. As a workplace menopause speaker, I bring the same evidence-informed, practical approach to speaking that I bring to coaching: translating research into what it actually looks like on a Tuesday afternoon - not just how it appears in a slide deck - so audiences leave not just understanding menopause better, but feeling more confident about how to respond.
Recent speaking engagements have included workplace wellbeing events, employee awareness sessions, professional women's networks and organisations developing their menopause awareness provision. Sessions have been delivered both in person and online, including International Women’s Day events and lunchitme awareness talks designed to build understanding and confidence around menopause in the workplace.
If you're looking for a speaker for a workplace event, conference, or professional network session, I’d be delighted to discuss how I can support your organisation.
Delivery options summary:
Resources for employers and HR teams
The following resources are available to support your organisation's menopause awareness work.
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Menopause Manager Guide
A practical guide for managers covering how to approach menopause conversations at work, what reasonable adjustments look like and how to use the LISTEN™ Framework in practice.
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Menopause HR Workplace Assessment Checklist
A self-assessment tool for HR teams and managers to identify where your organisation currently sits on menopause awareness and support - and where proportionate improvements could be made.
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Menopause at Work Page
A comprehensive, evidence-based overview of how menopause affects working women - covering disclosure, reasonable adjustments, the legal context and what supportive workplace cultures look like in practice.
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Workplace Menopause Blog Content
A library of articles on workplace menopause - covering topics including symptom management at work, manager conversations, return to work after menopause-related absence and building psychological safety.
For individual women managing menopause in a professional context, the Menopause at Work /menopause-at-work section provides detailed personal guidance - including practical strategies for managing symptoms at work, thinking through disclosure and protecting your energy through the working day.
For individual coaching support, the Coaching page covers all available programmes.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not at this stage. My workplace offering focuses on helping organisations move beyond awareness by giving managers practical guidance and confidence to respond well. Larger ongoing consultancy programmes are an area of development. If you're unsure whether what you need is within scope, the best starting point is a short conversation.
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I can advise on what evidence-based menopause support looks like in a workplace context and what a menopause framework typically includes. Formal policy development for employment purposes should involve qualified HR and legal professionals - and Phillipa is clear about that distinction.
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Yes. Menopause support doesn't require a dedicated programme or significant resource. A single awareness session, or a manager with the knowledge and confidence to have one good conversation, can make a meaningful difference. The approach is always proportionate to the organisation.
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I have worked with organisations in education, professional services, healthcare, and the voluntary sector. Sessions are adapted to the audience and context where relevant.
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Yes - all talks and sessions are available online or in person, depending on what works best for your organisation.
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A short, no-obligation conversation is the simplest starting point. Use the form below or email directly.
Book a workplace conversation
A brief, informal call to discuss where your organisation is now, where you'd like to be, and how I might help build confidence and practical support. No commitment required.
Or email directly:
phillipa@themenopausehealthcoach.com
Looking for support
for yourself?
If you've arrived here because you're navigating menopause yourself, Menopause Essentials provides a structured introduction to nutrition, movement, sleep, stress and behaviour change.
