35 min
Approaching menopause in the workplace CA3 Cup of tea series
-
- Careers
I think this is our most enlightening Cup of Tea series podcast to date, and our first one for 2024! I was very excited to be chatting with an old friend Sally Higham. Sally and I go way back, almost 20 years, back to when it
was all about rec ad and I went by the name of Cheeks! We have enjoyed the highs and lows of several different workplaces together. Since we did, Sally has lived and worked in Singapore and Switzerland for several large global organisations and is now the Director and Head of
Talent Attraction at Lonza and an Executive Menopause Coach. And it was actually the latter I wanted to talk about with her today.
When I heard Sally’s episode on Starting a conversation
around menopause in the workplace on the EMEA Recruitment Podcast, I wanted to find out more. This is something that’s just around the corner for me and something I haven’t really given much thought to. I am worryingly ill-informed, so I figured Sally was the right person to help me find out more – about how to plan for it, and what I needed to look out for and navigate in my life and at work.
Sally answers the following questions during our conversation:
1. Why did you decide to become a menopause coach?
2. Menopause facts:
a. Will menopause affect everyone in the same way?
b. What symptoms do I need to look out for, and could I already be going through it?
c. What’s the difference between perimenopause and the full-blown menopause?
d. How long will the menopause last? Will I feel great when it’s over?
e. Do I need to warn my family and employer that this is coming?
f. What adjustments will my work have to make for me? If any?
g. As you have experience of working and living in a few different countries, are there differences globally in both how the menopause is perceived, and how healthcare systems treat people?
3. What other advice would you give to
people who are approaching this time in their lives?
4. What advice would you give to
employers who want to do the right thing and support their employees in the right way?
Sally finished by saying that menopause is not just a women’s issue, it is a human rights issue. Whilst the majority of those directly affected are women, it can also directly affect transgender and non-binary people too. It can also indirectly affect anybody who knows or loves the person going through it – partners, families, friends and colleagues.
To find out more and get in touch with Sally, you can contact her on LinkedIn.
And here are the range of resources recommended by Sally, which you may find useful:
Books:
· Davina McCall – Menopausing
· The Power Decade – How to thrive after Menopause – Susan Saunders
· Just Getting Started – Lessons in Life, Love and Menopause – Lisa Snowdon
· Everything you need to know about the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask) – Kate Muir
· The Perimenopause Solution – Dr Shahzadi Harper & Emma Bardwell
Links:
Henpicked
The Kathryn Colas Academy
Emma Bardwell
Newson Health
The Aging Project
I think this is our most enlightening Cup of Tea series podcast to date, and our first one for 2024! I was very excited to be chatting with an old friend Sally Higham. Sally and I go way back, almost 20 years, back to when it
was all about rec ad and I went by the name of Cheeks! We have enjoyed the highs and lows of several different workplaces together. Since we did, Sally has lived and worked in Singapore and Switzerland for several large global organisations and is now the Director and Head of
Talent Attraction at Lonza and an Executive Menopause Coach. And it was actually the latter I wanted to talk about with her today.
When I heard Sally’s episode on Starting a conversation
around menopause in the workplace on the EMEA Recruitment Podcast, I wanted to find out more. This is something that’s just around the corner for me and something I haven’t really given much thought to. I am worryingly ill-informed, so I figured Sally was the right person to help me find out more – about how to plan for it, and what I needed to look out for and navigate in my life and at work.
Sally answers the following questions during our conversation:
1. Why did you decide to become a menopause coach?
2. Menopause facts:
a. Will menopause affect everyone in the same way?
b. What symptoms do I need to look out for, and could I already be going through it?
c. What’s the difference between perimenopause and the full-blown menopause?
d. How long will the menopause last? Will I feel great when it’s over?
e. Do I need to warn my family and employer that this is coming?
f. What adjustments will my work have to make for me? If any?
g. As you have experience of working and living in a few different countries, are there differences globally in both how the menopause is perceived, and how healthcare systems treat people?
3. What other advice would you give to
people who are approaching this time in their lives?
4. What advice would you give to
employers who want to do the right thing and support their employees in the right way?
Sally finished by saying that menopause is not just a women’s issue, it is a human rights issue. Whilst the majority of those directly affected are women, it can also directly affect transgender and non-binary people too. It can also indirectly affect anybody who knows or loves the person going through it – partners, families, friends and colleagues.
To find out more and get in touch with Sally, you can contact her on LinkedIn.
And here are the range of resources recommended by Sally, which you may find useful:
Books:
· Davina McCall – Menopausing
· The Power Decade – How to thrive after Menopause – Susan Saunders
· Just Getting Started – Lessons in Life, Love and Menopause – Lisa Snowdon
· Everything you need to know about the Menopause (but were too afraid to ask) – Kate Muir
· The Perimenopause Solution – Dr Shahzadi Harper & Emma Bardwell
Links:
Henpicked
The Kathryn Colas Academy
Emma Bardwell
Newson Health
The Aging Project
35 min