Andropause at work: the guide to male menopause and employee wellbeing

Menopause is finally getting the workplace recognition it deserves. Policies are being written, conversations are being had, and progressive employers are putting real support in place.

But there is another hormonal transition affecting your workforce, one that is almost entirely absent from benefits strategies, line manager training and wellbeing agendas.

It is called andropause. And if you have male employees aged 40 and over, it is already affecting your organisation.

This guide is designed to help HR and benefits professionals understand what andropause is, how it shows up in the workplace, why it is so frequently missed, and what meaningful support actually looks like.

What is andropause?

Andropause, sometimes called the male menopause, testosterone deficiency syndrome or late-onset hypogonadism, refers to the gradual decline in testosterone levels that men typically experience from their late thirties or forties onwards.

Unlike the female menopause, which involves a relatively rapid hormonal shift, andropause is a slow and progressive process. Testosterone levels in men typically decline at a rate of around 1 to 2% per year from the age of 30. By their mid-forties, many men are experiencing clinically significant hormonal change, often without any awareness that hormones are the cause.

Key facts HR and benefits leaders should know:

• Around 10-40% of men over their lifetime have low testosterone levels
• Testosterone decline is associated with a wide range of physical, cognitive and psychological symptoms
• Andropause is widely underdiagnosed because men rarely connect their symptoms to hormonal change
• The stigma around men's health means many men suffer in silence for years before seeking help, if they seek help at all

What are the symptoms of andropause?

This is where andropause becomes a direct business concern. The symptoms of testosterone decline are not just personal. They are professional.

Physical symptoms

• Persistent fatigue and low energy
• Reduced muscle mass and strength
• Weight gain, particularly around the abdomen
• Disrupted sleep and insomnia
• Reduced libido and sexual health difficulties
• Joint pain and physical discomfort

Cognitive and psychological symptoms

• Brain fog and poor concentration
• Memory lapses
• Low mood, irritability and mood swings
• Anxiety and loss of confidence
• Depression or a pervasive sense of losing purpose
• Reduced drive and motivation

Workplace behaviours HR teams often notice

• Declining performance or productivity without obvious cause
• Increased absence or presenteeism
• Withdrawal from teams and reduced engagement
• Uncharacteristic irritability or conflict with colleagues
• A senior leader who seems to have lost their edge

The challenge is that these behaviours are frequently attributed to stress, burnout, personal problems or simply getting older. The underlying hormonal driver goes unrecognised, by the individual, their manager and HR alike.

Why andropause is invisible in most workplaces

There are several reasons why andropause remains off the radar in most organisations, and understanding them is the first step to addressing the gap.

1. Men often don't talk about it

Men are significantly more likely than women to delay seeking help for health concerns. Cultural conditioning around masculinity means that symptoms such as fatigue, low mood and reduced performance are far more likely to be internalised or masked than disclosed. A man experiencing andropause-related brain fog is more likely to work harder to compensate than to raise the issue with his GP or line manager.

2. The medical journey is unclear

Even men who do seek help often find the pathway to diagnosis confusing and slow. GPs may not immediately consider testosterone deficiency, symptoms overlap with depression and burnout, and men may receive mental health referrals without the underlying hormonal cause being investigated.

3. Workplace benefits have not caught up

Most employee benefits programmes have been built around conditions that are already widely recognised. Men's hormonal health, and andropause specifically, simply does not feature in most EAP frameworks, health insurance offerings or wellbeing app content catalogues.

4. There is no cultural reference point

Menopause awareness has grown substantially in recent years, giving women a framework for understanding their own experience and giving employers a starting point for policy. Andropause has no equivalent cultural moment yet. There is no widespread public conversation, no high-profile advocacy and very little representation in mainstream media.

The business case for addressing andropause

For HR and benefits professionals who need to make the case internally, the data around men's health and workplace performance is compelling.

Productivity: Symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog and low motivation directly erode output. A senior leader or specialist operating at reduced cognitive and physical capacity represents a significant but hidden performance risk.

Absence: Andropause-related symptoms including poor sleep, physical discomfort and depression are established drivers of both short-term absence and long-term sickness. Men experiencing testosterone deficiency are at elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic conditions, all of which carry substantial absence and presenteeism costs.

Retention: Men experiencing andropause, particularly those in leadership roles, are at a pivotal career and life stage. Unsupported, they may disengage, step back from advancement or leave altogether. The cost of losing an experienced, senior male employee is considerable.

Mental health costs: Low testosterone is strongly associated with depression and anxiety. Without appropriate support, men experiencing andropause may enter the mental health system without the root hormonal cause ever being addressed, leading to protracted and often ineffective interventions.

Legal and duty of care considerations: While andropause does not currently carry the same legislative attention as menopause, the direction of travel is clear. Under existing equality legislation and duty of care obligations, employers have good reason to act. Organisations that do so now will be well ahead of the curve.

What good support for andropause looks like

Creating psychological safety for men

The most important enabler is culture. Men need to believe that disclosing a health concern will not be used against them, that their employer takes men's health seriously, and that there are credible, confidential options available to them.

This means training line managers to have sensitive conversations, normalising men's health in internal communications, and signposting support visibly and repeatedly rather than burying it in an intranet page that nobody reads.

Providing access to specialist clinical support

General employee assistance programmes are not equipped to support andropause. Men need access to clinicians who understand male hormonal health specifically, practitioners who can assess symptoms holistically, provide evidence-based guidance and connect men with appropriate testing and treatment pathways.

This is not the role of a general wellbeing app or a telephone counselling line. It requires specialist men's health expertise.

Making it easy and stigma-free

The channel matters as much as the content. Men are significantly more likely to engage with support that is:

• Digital and app-based, removing the need to make a phone call or see someone face to face
• Available at any time, accommodating the reality that men are unlikely to engage during the working day
• Genuinely confidential, with no risk of the information reaching their employer or line manager
• Non-judgmental in tone, free from the condescension that can sometimes characterise men's health content

Integrating andropause into a broader men's health strategy

Andropause should sit within a broader organisational commitment to men's health, one that also addresses prostate and urological health, cardiovascular risk, mental health and sexual wellbeing. Men's health is not a single issue and the most effective strategies address the whole person across their working life.

Learn more about Peppy's Men's Health support

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Frequently Asked Questions about andropause at work

Q: Is andropause a real medical condition?

Yes. While the term "male menopause" is sometimes disputed because the process differs from female menopause, testosterone deficiency syndrome and late-onset hypogonadism are recognised clinical conditions with established diagnostic criteria and treatment options, including testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) where clinically appropriate.

Q: At what age does andropause typically affect men?

Testosterone decline begins gradually from around age 30, with many men experiencing noticeable symptoms in their forties and fifties. The age of onset varies significantly between individuals.

Q: How is andropause diagnosed?

Andropause is typically diagnosed through a combination of symptom assessment and blood testing to measure testosterone levels. A specialist men's health clinician can guide individuals through this process and help them understand their results in context.

Q: Should HR create a specific andropause policy?

While a standalone andropause policy is one approach, many organisations choose to address it within a broader men's health policy or as part of a life-stage health strategy. What matters most is that support is visible, accessible and genuinely specialist, not just that it exists on paper.

Q: Does the Employment Rights Act 2025 cover andropause?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not specifically legislate for andropause. However, employers have existing obligations under equality and duty-of-care frameworks, and the direction of travel suggests that proactive action now is prudent.

How Peppy supports men through andropause

At Peppy, men's health is one of our core specialist services and it is built around exactly the barriers described above.

Through the Peppy app, employees get unlimited, confidential access to specialist men's health clinicians who understand the hormonal, physical and psychological dimensions of andropause. Our practitioners provide:

• One-to-one chat and consultations with men's health specialists
• Symptom assessment and clinical guidance on testosterone decline and related conditions
• Support navigating testing and treatment pathways, including TRT where appropriate
• Lifestyle support across nutrition, fitness, sleep and mental wellbeing, all of which influence hormonal health
• Proactive check-ins that keep men engaged with their health over time, not just in a moment of crisis

Everything is delivered through an app, available at any time, completely private, with no information shared with the employer.

What HR and Benefits leaders should do next

Andropause will not appear in your absence data with a label. It will not show up in your EAP utilisation reports as a named issue. But it is there, in the performance conversations that do not add up, the unexplained disengagement of previously strong leaders, and the quiet attrition of men who felt they had nowhere to turn.

The organisations that address this gap now will have a meaningful advantage in performance, retention and culture.

Three immediate actions to consider:

1. Audit your current men's health provision. Does it include specialist support for hormonal health and andropause? If the answer is no, or you are not sure, there is a gap worth addressing.
2. Start the internal conversation. Raise andropause in your next wellbeing strategy review. Put men's hormonal health on the agenda alongside menopause, fertility and mental health.
3. Explore specialist support. General wellbeing benefits are not sufficient. Look at what specialist, clinician-led men's health support could offer your workforce and what the cost of inaction looks like by comparison.

Peppy partners with 250+ organisations to provide specialist healthcare support across key life stages, including dedicated men's health services covering andropause, sexual health, prostate and urological conditions, mental health and more. To find out how Peppy can support the men in your workforce, book a call with our team today.