The number of businesses offering menopause benefits remains incredibly small. But the list is a lot longer than it was this time last year.
The US economy loses $26.6 billion annually due to employee menopause symptom management according to Mayo Clinic estimates, with $1.8 billion of that down to productivity losses. Offering menopausal benefits can streamline business operation in addition to helping employees’ well-being.
A unique benefits package can help businesses stand out while trying to hire the best and brightest. Some options include pet insurance, four-day work weeks, or paid menstrual leave. Yet, companies are still getting used to the idea of offering menopausal benefits.
Here’s a quick look at which businesses are leading the way.
What Do Menopausal Benefits Cover?
Many companies already offer comprehensive medical benefits on one hand and flexible working arrangements on another. But it’s only by putting together a package of these benefits (and others) that’s designed to address menopausal needs specifically that the company can offer menopausal benefits.
Here’s a list of the types of benefits that a company is likely referring to when it says it supports its employees’ menopausal needs:
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- Flexible work arrangements
- Access to hormone therapy
- Menopausal leave
- Access to counseling or wellness coaching
- E-learning and internal events
- Toolkits and conversation guides
According to an analysis reported in January, 15% of employers currently offer or plan to offer menopause benefits in 2024, a big jump up from just 4% the year before.
Companies That Offer Menopausal Benefits in 2024
Hot flashes, joint pain, brain fog, and poor sleep can really hurt someone’s work performance. This is particularly true for those in senior management positions, as are many who are affected by menopause.
1. Microsoft
The biggest brand currently offering menopausal benefits is tech giant Microsoft, which only added them in July of 2023.
Employees around the globe have these benefits today, with Bloomberg reporting that Maven Clinic had logged more than “3,000 provider-member interactions in 58 countries” across the first two months following the launch of the benefit.
2. Adobe
Software company Adobe beat Microsoft to the punch by rolling out its menopausal benefits a year earlier. Listed within the “personal wellbeing” section of a late 2022 announcement, Adobe said it has now added “fertility, family leave and menopause services” for the first time for Adobe team members in Europe.
“Employees, their partners or spouses have complimentary access to Peppy Menopause and Peppy Fertility services including one-to-one access to experts, online resources or moderated group chats.” -Adobe
It’s far from the first time that Europe has adapted employee-friendly benefits earlier than their American cousins: The EU guarantees a minimum of 20 working days of paid vacation, compared to an average of about 11 days in the US.
3. Nvidia
The same service that Adobe relies on, Peppy, supports the Santa Clara, California-based technology corporation Nvidia in the UK with a package that includes menopause-related perks. Peppy has recently rolled out menopausal benefits support for Nvidia in the US as well, covering about 13,000 employees.
According to the company’s website, Nvidia now offers “clinical and emotional support for employees going through any stage of menopause.”
Feedback is positive so far, according to coverage from late last year. The benefit will be up for renewal later this year, and will continue on as long as employees find it worth the investment.
4. Organon
Multinational pharmaceutical company Organon has some skin in the game when it comes to menopausal benefits: The company is itself trying to find solutions to some of the life-impacting side effects of perimenopause and menopause. “Certainly, we should be doing something internally within our policy framework to acknowledge the same,” Organon chief human resources officer Aaron Falcione told HR Brew.
What are they doing specifically? Adding menopausal leave, keeping managers informed about the issue, and implementing a range of practices aimed at destigmatizing the topic, such as giving employees a space to take a quick break during a hot flash or providing a desk fan.
5. Standard Chartered Bank
This British multinational bank revealed a global rollout of these benefits late last year, covering menopause related symptoms for all employees and their partners, with the rollout expected to finish up this month, April 2024.
Here’s what the bank is doing, in addition to offering access to specialized medical practitioners and prescription medication:
“They have introduced toolkits, conversation guides and counselling support, as well as e-learning and internal events. Employees experiencing the menopause are also well supported by flexible working policies and workplace adjustments to help them better manage their symptoms.”
About 7% of the company’s employees are personally impacted by menopause, it says.
6. The NBA
The National Basketball Association isn’t letting anyone dunk on them: They’re offering menupausal benefits, as well “inclusive fertility and family-building benefits,” all made available through Carrot Fertility, a global corporate fertility benefits service.
7. Palantir
The big-data surveillance company Palantir’s data-mining practices might not make headlines for the best reasons, but its employees do have some great perks: The company is also on Carrot Fertility’s client list, with menopausal benefits among those it offers its workers.
8. Abercrombie & Fitch
The clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch offers its menopause benefits through Carrot Fertility as well. As with the NBA and Palantir, little information has been provided beyond this, but it’s good to know the brand is on the cutting edge of modern company benefits culture as well as turn-of-the-century fashion styles.
Will Companies Continue Centering Employees Needs?
Menopausal benefits are just one example of an employee-forward approach that many companies are using to keep their workplace healthy and happy, while luring in top talent as well.
But it’s worth noting that virtually every company out there is beholden to its bottom line. As much as a healthy workplace aids that bottom line in the long term, the great benefits that shape that health can go on the chopping block when the quarterly need for short-term profit emerges.
A true commitment to employees’ needs will emerge from workers and the general public continuing to highlight the need for better parity in the workplace, whether that looks like menopausal benefits, menstrual leave, fully remote work, or any other flexible option.
