Endometriosis is one of the most common gynaecological conditions in the UK. 1 in 10 women and people assigned female at birth suffer from it, so it likely affects or will affect at least one of your employees. That means endometriosis in the workplace is a growing area of focus and you should ensure you have the right procedures in place to support those living with it.
Supporting people with endometriosis is the right thing to do for several reasons. You’ll ensure that you’re meeting your legal obligations to the employee, but you’ll also make your organisation a better place to work which could lead to improved retention rates, employee engagement and attendance.
Let’s explore what endometriosis is, how it can impact employees when they’re at work and what you can do to support them.
What is endometriosis and what are the symptoms?
Endometriosis is a chronic condition that affects women and people assigned female at birth, and it can occur any time between puberty and menopause. It occurs when cells similar to those in the womb’s lining grow in other parts of the body. Most commonly, these cells grow on the lining of the pelvis, but they can also grow in the ovaries, bladder or the bowel. In rare cases, the cells may be found in other parts of the body like the chest.
Symptoms vary from person to person, and may come and go during different stages of the menstrual cycle. The most common symptoms include:
- Pelvic pain
- Painful, heavy periods that disrupt everyday life
- Difficulty conceiving
- Painful urination and/or bowel movements
- Pain during or after sex
- Fatigue (when accompanied with one or more other symptoms)
There is no cure for endometriosis – it can only be managed. This means that it can have a serious effect on people when they’re at work.
Is there treatment available?
The treatment available for endometriosis depends on its severity. In the first instance, painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen are recommended, along with hormonal medications such as the combined pill.
If medication doesn’t work, the person has lots of endometriosis or it is affecting their fertility, surgery is another option. Surgery may involve:
- removing areas of endometriosis or ovarian cysts caused by endometriosis
- removing the womb (hysterectomy) or ovaries (oophorectomy)
- removing part of your bladder or bowel if endometriosis is affecting them
Surgery isn’t a decision taken lightly, as the person may need more surgery if symptoms return or if the surgery causes scarring that makes the organs stick together (called adhesions).
How does endometriosis impact people at work?
Since one of the main symptoms of endometriosis is severe pain, this could have a significant impact on your employees. If someone is in extreme pain all day, it could affect their focus and mood, which is likely to have an impact on their work output and quality.
Living with chronic pain puts a person at higher risk of mental health problems. But simply having to deal with a diagnosis of endometriosis can be overwhelming for a lot of people, and this can lead to depression and anxiety.
Many people with endometriosis will require time off work due to their physical symptoms, but also due to a decline in their mental health.
Just this month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that women with endometriosis earn less due to having to leave jobs or reduce their hours after receiving a diagnosis. This shows just how much of an impact endometriosis can have on employees’ lives.
Can employees take time off work for endometriosis?
Like any other chronic condition, endometriosis can stop you from working. And like any other illness, employees can take time off work when they are suffering from endometriosis symptoms.
Employees can self-certify their absence, or if they need an extended period of time off, they should get a fit note from their GP or health professional if they are off work for more than 7 days in a row (including non-working days) in order to be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
You can manage their sickness absence according to your usual policies, but if their condition is classed as a disability, there may be reasonable adjustments you need to make. Even if your employee’s condition isn’t considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010, you may still decide to make adjustments. More on that later.
Is endometriosis classed as a disability at work?
Endometriosis isn’t automatically classed as a disability at work. It depends on how much the condition affects the employee’s life.
Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is considered to have a disability if:
- they have a physical or mental impairment, and
- the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
So, if your employee has endometriosis and it is considered a disability, you have legal obligations to ensure that their work doesn’t negatively impact their disability. Under the Equality Act, this includes making reasonable adjustments to their environment, working patterns or workload.
But even if your employee’s condition isn’t considered a disability, it is still worth looking at what you can do to support them at work.
What can an employer do to support employees with endometriosis?
There are lots of ways you can support employees who suffer from endometriosis. While some of these things are legal obligations, many of the ways to support your employees are simply the right thing to do to help them feel more comfortable at work and build a positive workplace culture:
Make workplace adjustments
One of the most important things you can do to support employees who suffer from endometriosis is to make workplace accommodations. If your employee is classed as disabled due to their condition, then it’s a legal requirement to make reasonable adjustments for them.
Making reasonable adjustments for your employee will make them more comfortable, and it should help improve their engagement and sense of wellbeing at work.
Examples of reasonable adjustments that employees may request include:
- Allowing longer breaks
- Offering a phased return to work after periods of absence
- Providing a quiet, safe space to rest or use a hot water bottle
- Offering flexible working, including a reduction in hours, hybrid/remote work or flexitime
Making adjustments ensures that the employee can continue to work. Without them, it’s possible that they will feel like the only option is to resign. You may want to compare the costs of any adjustments to the cost of recruiting and training someone new – often employers find that reasonable adjustments offer better value.
It’s worth noting that not all adjustments are considered reasonable. It depends on the size and scale of your business. If you’re unsure about whether an adjustment is considered reasonable, you should speak to an HR consultant who can advise you.
Understand the difficulties employees face
Endometriosis is often not taken seriously, and it can significantly affect a person’s mental health if they don’t feel understood.
If an employee discloses to you that they have endometriosis, do some research on the condition. By reading up on endometriosis, your employee will feel heard. Once you know how their condition could affect them at work, you can collaborate with your employee to determine how to support them best.
Check in frequently
As a line manager, it’s good practice to check in regularly with your team to ensure they have the opportunity to raise any issues they’re having. About once a month is great.
When you meet with employees suffering from chronic conditions like endometriosis, make sure that you set aside time to talk to them about how they are feeling. Are the reasonable adjustments you put in place working? Is there anything else you can do to make work more comfortable for them?
Regularly checking in will help you understand your employee’s needs, and it’ll also help you build trust. Remember, it’s up to them how much they share with you about their medical condition, but be open with them and explain that you want to make sure they’re properly supported.
Build a supportive culture
Creating a workplace culture where everyone feels able to speak up about any issues or problems they’re facing without fear of negative consequences is crucial for employee engagement. Higher engagement leads to higher profits – up to 23% higher, according to a Gallup report.
Workplace culture transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but you can make small, incremental changes that will start to make all the difference. Ensure that you listen to your employees, whether it’s about their chronic conditions or concerns they have at work, and demonstrate that you understand the challenges they face.
Another way to build a supportive culture is to raise awareness of endometriosis and other chronic conditions. Endometriosis Awareness Month is in March, so you could do a spotlight on the condition that month in your staff newsletter, monthly meeting or another way that will help you communicate to all employees.
Raising awareness will help your entire workforce understand endometriosis better, which can lead to people feeling more comfortable talking openly about their own conditions.
Offer an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are a great way to offer support to employees who suffer from endometriosis. EAPs usually give employees access to mental health support, while more comprehensive programmes also offer legal and financial advice and clinical consultations.
As we’ve already mentioned, people with endometriosis can experience mental health problems related to their condition. Giving them access to an EAP so they can get counselling or receive financial advice if they are considering reducing their working hours will help improve your employees’ wellbeing and could have an impact on their productivity.
In fact, studies have shown that programmes addressing mental health issues in the workplace can present a return of interest of up to 800% due to higher productivity, fewer sick days and lower staff turnover.
Benefits of supporting your employees
Supporting your employees who suffer from chronic conditions like endometriosis not only improves your employees’ wellbeing, but it can have an impact on business success too.
There are lots of benefits to supporting your employees, but here are our top three:
Increased retention
Making your staff feel comfortable at work will improve their sense of wellbeing, both physically and psychologically. If they feel supported and valued, they are more likely to be loyal to your organisation, increasing your retention rate. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), it can cost between 6-9 month’s salary to replace a member of staff, so it’s well worth doing your best to retain the employees you have.
Better attendance
When you make accommodations for employees with endometriosis, like offering a quiet place to rest and use a hot water bottle, it helps keep them at work.
Endometriosis can stop you from working, and even if you do make adjustments employees may still need to take time off. However, doing everything you can to make work more comfortable for them will help them feel able to work when it may have otherwise been impossible.
Plus, fostering a more supportive workplace culture will help employees to not feel afraid of sharing when they are suffering from endometriosis symptoms, which otherwise may have caused them to take time off work.
Increased engagement and productivity
Doing everything you can to support your employees will help them feel more engaged. If you’re putting steps in place to help them manage their symptoms while they’re at work, they should see an improvement in their wellbeing, and they’re less likely to be distracted by their symptoms.
So, if your employee is less distracted by their symptoms, the quality of their work and their productivity should go up.
Endometriosis Friendly Employer Scheme
The Endometriosis Friendly Employer Scheme is a scheme set up by the charity Endometriosis UK. The scheme is a way for employers to confirm their commitment to developing a workplace culture that enables employees with endometriosis to thrive at work.
The scheme offers guidance on how to support employees with endometriosis and asks employers to commit to improving the work environment in three key areas:
- Leadership and management support
- Tackling stigma and changing culture
- Communications
The Endometriosis Friendly Employer Scheme is meant to be a framework for employers to commit to working towards. In your first year signed up to the scheme, you nominate Endometriosis Champions to help progress the scheme within your organisation.
At the end of your first year, you send Endometriosis UK a review of your activities to show your progress on meeting the principles. After that, you should do a review every two years to show your commitment.
Signing up to the Endometriosis Friendly Employer Scheme is a way to show employees suffering with the condition that you take it seriously and that you are committed to improving the workplace for everyone. Being part of the scheme may also help you attract better talent as they can see that you believe in supporting your colleagues.
Responding to the ONS research, Endometriosis UK said that their scheme shows that ‘where workplaces provide support, understanding and reasonable adjustments for endometriosis…they can retain talented employees.’
How we can help
At Fitzgerald, we know it can be overwhelming when you first have to support an employee who has a chronic health condition. We can help you meet your legal obligations and create a supportive workplace culture in a number of ways:
- Policy development: We can help you put together a chronic condition or specific endometriosis policy
- Absence management: We’ll advise on how to manage absences related to endometriosis symptoms
- Advice on reasonable adjustments: Not all adjustments are reasonable for your business. We’ll help you do what’s right for your employee and your organisation
- Employee Assistance Programmes: We can help you set up your EAP service to make sure you get the right support for your team
- Occupational health referrals: We can deliver you a team of clinical and occupational health specialists to collaborate with them on a plan to support your employee’s wellbeing at work
If you’d like to discuss how to support your employees with our team we’d love to hear from you. Book a free consultation or give us a call on 0330 223 5253 to see how we can help.
Further Reading
How an Effective Organisational Development Strategy Can Empower Women in the Workplace
Menopause at Work: A Guide for Employers
Should Smaller Organisations Care About the Gender Pay Gap?
Key takeaways about supporting people with endometriosis in the workplace
- Endometriosis affects everyone differently: Some employees will be able to continue work normally, while others may have debilitating symptoms and need time off work
- It affects physical and mental health: People with endometriosis are more likely to have mental health problems due to being in chronic pain
- It can be considered a disability: Depending on how endometriosis affects your employee, it could be legally classed as a disability
- Implement reasonable adjustments: Even if you’re not legally required to, making adjustments like offering flexible working hours or providing a space to use to rest can make a big difference
- Show your support: Take time to understand the condition, raise awareness across your organisation and check in regularly with employees who have endometriosis
- You’ll reap the benefits: Supporting your employees who have endometriosis can lead to an increase in productivity, retention and attendance rates
