Working + perimenopause can be hella hard

...and now we have more big numbers to prove it

Photo by Deddy Yoga Pratama on Unsplash

A Mayo Clinic study out this week estimates US$1.8 billion in lost work time per year due to women experiencing menopause symptoms, a number that leaps to US$26.6 billion annually when medical expenses are added. That second figure takes into account direct excess medical expenses to women, adjusting for inflation, and based on previous research looking specifically at women who had worsened Vasomotor Symptoms published in 2015 that put the annual cost at $1,346. It does not assess the cost women themselves bear related to reduced work hours, job loss, early retirement or changing jobs.

The findings were published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings from research conducted over three months in 2021. Researchers asked 32,469 women ages 45-60 getting general care at the Mayo Clinic to fill out a survey; of the 5,200 who responded, 4,440 of them working. The story got tons of media attention in North America – my dad emailed from Canada to tell …