The dialectic of zest

A new way of supporting women going through menopause on the job

Photo by KOBU Agency on Unsplash

Everyone talks about reducing shame and stigma surrounding menopause and adjusting workplaces so they are more accommodating.

A worthy goal, and one that’s all well and good until your boss is rolling his eyes because you thought you sent an email that was still in your drafts, or you are late for your shift at the pet food store because you slept for just two hours, or you forgot to set up a meeting with someone the founder of your company asked for (my most recent goof).

Maybe you simply had to disappear to the toilet for a lengthy sob in the stall, followed by the requisite cold-water splash and makeup application, and got the old “boss was looking for you” when you returned to your desk. The scenarios are endless, and if you want to hear more about what this is really like, listen to women tell their stories and hosts Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia break it all down on the Menopause, ageism, sexism: What is driving women out of work? episode of the British Media Storm podcast.

In a survey of more than 4,000 women conducted by Forth, a hormone mapping company in the UK, a heartbreaking 63 percent said their working life had been negatively impacted in some way by their symptoms; 29 percent lost self-confidence, and only six percent said they had no problems at work.

And yet. So much attention is paid to the darkness in the tunnel – at work, and everywhere else – that we forget about the light at the end of it. Thank goodness there are deep thinkers engaged with coming up with new models that just might help bring a new dawn to this entire issue. Enter the Dialectic of Zest.