In the wake of the Great Resignation (or Great Reshuffle),
employee retention
has never been a higher priority for
human resources
teams than it is now.
In fact, according to
Lattice
, 83% of teams are investing either “somewhat” or “significantly” more into
employee retention
than they have in the past.
But one group might be overlooked at your company: midlife women. Yep, you read that right. Women between the ages of 42 and 58 might be your key to increasing
employee retention
rates. Why?
Menopause in the Workplace: A Secret Driver of Employee Attrition?
Well, there’s a secret struggle brewing amongst your female workforce: menopause. By 2025,
1.1 billion women are expected to be postmenopausal
—that means your women are experiencing it
now
.
And
menopause at work
is
no joke
. It causes impactful, disruptive symptoms like pain, brain fog, headaches, hot flashes, fatigue, sleep disruption, bladder issues, and more—all of which negatively affect a woman’s mental and physical health
as well as
her ability to work productively.
It might also be one of the reasons why so many women employees leave the workforce.
Shockingly, 10% of menopausal women will leave employment
when they don’t want to
due to a lack of suitable support at their workplace. This number is simply unacceptable when there are many medical interventions that can drastically improve symptoms.
So how can you retain midlife women? Let’s explore some
employee retention strategies
that can help you (especially as you plan your
HR strategy
for 2023).
Tools for Retaining Midlife Employees
1. Focus on Employee Health — For Real
In recent years, women’s health has become a more commonplace topic in the workplace, but women are still disproportionately affected by health and
employee healthcare
issues—often leading them to leave the workforce, seek new or part-time jobs, or be passed over for promotions.
In order to solve this unmet need, companies often turn to an Employee Assistance Program, or EAP. But historically, Employee Assistance Programs have been underutilized by employees. In fact,
EAP utilisation averages below 10%
. This may be due to a number of factors—including stigma—but also because your company’s EAP might not cover the issues that are truly plaguing your employee population.
When exploring options for
employee healthcare
, make sure you’re considering all the many unique needs of your workforce. For midlife women, for instance, that may mean
medical support for menopause
or fertility and adoption services.
2. Implement the Right HR Policies
While not wildly exciting on paper, truly
strategic human resource management
involves writing and implementing strong
HR policies
. When it comes to employee retention—especially for women—consider adding policies to formalise things like
menopause support
, sick days for periods, and parental leave. Don’t leave it to a case-by-case basis or you could find yourself losing employees who otherwise would want to stay (and even facing potential legal risks).
3. Build Belonging
Human resource planning is so much more than offering the right benefits and compensation; it’s also about building inclusive, diverse workforces where your employees feel like they truly belong. According to
Harvard Business Review
, "High belonging was linked to a whopping 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days. For a 10,000-person company, this would result in annual savings of more than $52M.”
Employee Health is a Workplace Issue
So what’s the takeaway here? When you’re building your
HR strategy
, ensure that you’re thinking about
all
your employees—but don’t forget about your midlife women employees. They bring immense talent, experience, and leadership to your company, and your benefits packages,
HR policies
, and culture may not be supporting them enough to keep them.
The toolkit includes:
- 3 steps to implementing effective menopause support in your business
- Menopause facts everyone should know
- Tips from a leading menopause expert
- Free survey for your workforce