Marketing consultancy Wunderman Thompson UK has introduced an employee support package to raise awareness and start conversations around menopause in the workplace on World Menopause Day (18 October).
Through a partnership with midlife women’s support platform The Latte Lounge, the employer will provide support information and signpost to resources for all women’s perimenopause, menopause, and health and wellbeing needs.
It will also run events and manager training within the workplace to educate, open up conversations and provide resources to employees who are experiencing symptoms, and expand available peer-to-peer support for menopause symptoms through its mentoring platform Magpie.
The partnership will sit alongside Wunderman Thompson’s Life Policies, which aim to open up a safe space to talk about the condition, as well as its team of menopause champions. It is part of its inclusive health offering Project 65, which supports everyone at the agency to be their whole self, for the whole of their career, and is led by its women’s network Rise.
Wunderman Thompson has introduced this support in recognition of the fact that symptoms do not only affect women going through the menopause, but can also affect the teams they work with. Its aim is to implement menopause education and support in the workplace in order to retain talent, to help individuals understand a friend or relative’s experience, and not just to survive, but thrive at work.
Paula Joannou, chief people officer at Wunderman Thompson UK, said: “The menopause is a natural part of life, but for too many women it can prove a barrier at work. With the right support, women don’t need to struggle through. The Latte Lounge will help us build on our existing support package to create a culture of talking openly about the menopause at work, making sure that we’re helping those women experiencing symptoms, but also empowering their colleagues and managers to support them through as well.”