New Study Challenges Link Between Menopause and Workplace Performance, Raising Questions Over UK Policy

By Rob Moss

A comprehensive and robust new scientific study examining the impact of menopause on women has concluded there is no direct link between the life transition and workplace engagement, productivity, impairment, or absenteeism.

The findings, presented at the International Menopause Society’s World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, cast significant doubt on the empirical rationale underpinning sweeping new workplace menopause policies. The research threatens to ignite a major debate over government-mandated regulations, such as those introduced by the UK’s Employment Rights Act 2025, which seek to legally bind employers to specific workplace menopause protocols.

As businesses grapple with the financial and administrative burdens of these emerging mandates, international researchers are warning that well-intentioned policies driven by emotional narratives rather than hard data could ultimately backfire, risking long-term damage to gender equality in the labor market.

Main Facts

The core revelation stems from research led by Professor Susan Davis, an endocrinologist and clinician-researcher at Monash University in Melbourne. Her team’s latest findings challenge the widely accepted narrative that perimenopause and menopause are primary drivers of poor workplace performance, career exits, and high absenteeism among midlife women.

Key takeaways from the research and the unfolding policy landscape include:

• No Direct Correlation: Nationally representative, cross-sectional data of more than 8,000 midlife women revealed that menopausal status is not associated with poor work function, absenteeism, presenteeism, or productivity loss.
• True Drivers of Work Difficulty: Factors most closely correlated with reduced work ability include job dissatisfaction, underlying health comorbidities, and moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms—not the natural biological transition of menopause.
• Flawed Baseline Statistics: Prominent statistics frequently cited by lawmakers—such as a widely repeated claim that nearly 900,000 UK women left their jobs due to menopausal symptoms—were extrapolated from a small survey of 1,000 individuals that included women leaving employment due to pregnancy.
• Imminent UK Mandates: Voluntary menopause action plans for large UK employers (those with over 250 staff) were launched in April 2026 and are slated to become mandatory in April 2027, requiring publication alongside gender pay gap reports.

Chronology: How the Menopause-at-Work Narrative Evolved

To understand how the current policy framework took shape, it is necessary to trace the timeline of political lobbying, parliamentary recommendations, and scientific inquiry that brought workplace menopause to the forefront of employment legislation.

• 2022: The UK Women and Equalities Committee published a high-profile report recommending that menopause be made a protected characteristic under equality law. The report relied heavily on external survey data—specifically from healthcare provider Bupa—claiming that nearly 900,000 women had exited the workforce because of menopausal symptoms.
• 2025: Professor Susan Davis and her team on the Australian Women’s Midlife Years (AMY) Study conducted a systematic review of existing global literature evaluating menopause and work performance, published in the scientific journal Menopause. They concluded that previous studies suffered from severe methodological flaws, small sample sizes, and sampling biases.
• April 2026: The UK government rolled out voluntary menopause action plans for employers with more than 250 staff, encouraging initiatives such as designated menopause "champions" and mandatory awareness training.
• Last Week: Presenting at the International Menopause Society’s World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Prof Davis unveiled her team’s latest large-scale, nationally representative research, which directly challenges the necessity of these legislative interventions.
• April 2027 (Upcoming): The currently voluntary workplace menopause action plans are scheduled to become legally mandatory for large UK businesses, requiring public reporting aligned with gender pay gap disclosures.

Supporting Data and Methodological Flaws

For years, policymakers have relied on alarming statistics to justify sweeping employment interventions. However, scientific scrutiny has begun to unravel the foundations of these figures.

Speaking to The Times, Professor Davis explained how previous estimates were wildly distorted. The frequently quoted figure of nearly 900,000 women leaving their jobs due to menopause was derived from a survey that also captured women exiting the workforce due to pregnancy.

"That’s not menopause," Davis remarked. "People were going to politicians and saying, ‘Oh, there’s this terrible problem about menopause in the workplace. All these women are leaving work.’ There’s no evidence."

Overcoming Sampling Bias

The AMY study presented in Rio took a drastically different methodological approach. By examining a nationally representative cross-section of more than 8,000 midlife women, researchers avoided the pitfalls of "topic salience bias"—a form of self-selection bias where individuals for whom a survey topic is personally relevant are disproportionately likely to respond.

Dr. Jen Gunter, a prominent gynaecologist and author who attended the Rio congress, elaborated on this phenomenon in her Substack publication, The Vajenda.

"If women had known this was a menopause-and-work questionnaire, it would have affected who responded," Dr. Gunter explained. "Topic-salient surveys tend to overestimate the prevalence and severity of the condition being advertised. But if we want a true picture of menopause, we need to hear from a sample that represents all women."

When surveyed broadly as midlife women rather than specifically as menopausal workers, premenopausal women (average age 44.7) and perimenopausal women (average age 48.2) reported identical socio-demographic profiles, similar roles, and equivalent reasons for leaving work.

Official Responses and Expert Warnings

The scientific community’s pushback against unverified workplace narratives has struck a chord with researchers who advocate for evidence-based policymaking.

Professor Davis did not mince words regarding the UK government’s legislative trajectory, telling The Times that the measures introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are "ahead of the knowledge."

"The policies have been driven by emotion and insufficient fact," Davis stated. "I believe in evidence. I am all for health policy based on data. And if you have a health or workplace policy not based on data, there is the potential for long-term harm."

Dr. Gunter echoed these sentiments, noting that midlife cannot be neatly reduced to a single biological variable. "Midlife is not a single variable experience governed completely by menopause, and we need more data before we attribute workplace difficulties to perimenopause or menopause," she wrote.

Implications for Employers and Gender Equality

Perhaps the most alarming implication highlighted by the AMY study is the risk that hyper-focusing on perimenopause in the workplace could inadvertently harm the very demographic it aims to protect.

Rather than fostering supportive environments, institutionalized anxiety around menopause risks entrenching unconscious biases among hiring managers. Professor Davis warned that the legislation could backfire against women aged 45 to 55:

"People worried about employing a 35-year-old woman because they’re going to get pregnant," Davis noted. "They used to think a 50-year-old woman was reliable. Now they’re going to be seen as dynamite."

By over-attributing general career burnout, job dissatisfaction, or standard midlife health challenges specifically to menopausal symptoms, employers may develop hesitance around hiring or promoting women in this age bracket. Furthermore, experts warn that treating a normal biological transition as a disabling medical condition risks pathologizing natural aging, ultimately widening workplace gender inequalities rather than closing them.

As the UK moves toward making menopause action plans mandatory in April 2027, human resources professionals, policymakers, and business leaders face a critical juncture. They must balance compassionate, inclusive workplace cultures with rigorous, evidence-based practices that do not inadvertently stigmatize mature female talent.

About the Author

Rob Moss is a business journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He has been the editor of Personnel Today since 2010, having joined the publication in 2006 as the online editor of its award-winning website. Rob specializes in labour market economics, gender diversity, and family-friendly working practices, and has hosted hundreds of industry webinars and podcasts.