A quarter of women working in UK offices feel they been shamed or pressured to return to work early when taking time off for health issues such as endometriosis, a poll has suggested.
The poll of 1,250 women aged 25-55 for women’s health start-up frendo found more than a quarter (28%) felt their company culture was not open when it came to discussing health conditions. Twenty-seven per cent said their employer was reluctant to make allowances for health issues.
One in seven (14%) said they had experienced discrimination in the workplace because of their health, such as being overlooked for promotions or excluded from team activities.
Many experiencing these issues also found it hard to speak up. For instance, two in five of those who had been discriminated against (42%) did not vocalise their concerns to the staff who were placing them at a disadvantage, and the same proportion did not tell their HR department.
Endometriosis
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A third of the women polled said they would feel uncomfortable talking about chronic health issues with a male manager, rising to 63% if discussing a fertility or menstrual problem. These figures fell to 16% and 22% respectively when talking to a female manager.
While 24% of office-based workplaces did provide an employee support network for people experiencing fertility issues and menstrual problems, there was still very little specific support in the workplace for other women’s health conditions, such as endometriosis, frendo concluded.
As a result, the company has launched a workplace support programme, frendo@work, specifically aimed at endometriosis.
The research also found that healthcare benefits were becoming increasingly important for recruitment and retention. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the women polled said health-related perks would now be important if they searched for a new job, and 77% felt this was more important than five years ago.
Dearbhail Ormond, founder and CEO of frendo, was herself made redundant when she returned to work after laparoscopic surgery for the removal of endometriosis.
She said: “Unfortunately, there is still too much stigma and shame attached to female health issues, and a lack of openness and understanding in the workplace leaves many women feeling pressured or shamed when taking time off due to ill health and unable to speak out if they are being discriminated against.
“Without the right support, chronic conditions such as endometriosis can prevent women from reaching their full potential in the workplace, not only affecting the employee but also the employer’s bottom line as a result of absenteeism or loss of productivity.
“With more education, employers can be in a better position to support and retain staff by helping them access the tools they need to manage their health alongside their career,” Ormond added.
Separately, research for the charity Endometriosis UK has concluded women are now waiting almost nine years for an endometriosis diagnosis.
The study found waiting times for the condition to be formally identified have significantly deteriorated since the pandemic. Women are now waiting an average of eight years and 10 months, up 10 months since 2020.
The poll of 4,371 women also found almost half of respondents had visited their GP 10 or more times with symptoms before receiving a diagnosis.
More than half (52%) of respondents had visited A&E at least once because of symptoms of endometriosis. Many women surveyed complained of being “dismissed, ignored and belittled”.
The charity’s chief executive Emma Cox described the findings as “a real wake-up call for governments and the NHS.”
She added: “What we’d like to see is a commitment from the NHS and governments in each nation in the UK, to have a target of an average diagnosis time, by a year or less by 2030.”
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