Skip to main content With discussions around menstrual health still being seen as ‘taboo’ in some settings, it can be difficult to know how to support an employee who discloses an endometriosis diagnosis. This is made even more difficult by the significant variations in symptoms from person to person. The good news for you as an employer is that if your employee has disclosed their condition to you, it is a sign that you have developed a level of mutual trust.
Sadly, some employees feel unable to disclose their medical needs in their workplace due to fear of loss of hours, loss of job, or simply not feeling comfortable enough to open the discussion. It is important to keep the lines of communication open – read through the tips below to ensure that you’re supporting your employee in the best way possible.
Get informed
As part of the 2018 National Action Plan for Endometriosis, Safe Work Australia prepared a guide on Supporting workers with endometriosis in the workplace. This document should be your first port of call to understand your obligations as an Australian employer or manager to support workers with endo. Other places to find information about endometriosis include this website and the Australian Endometriosis Associations.
Be led by your employee
As an employer or manager, your role is to ensure that your staff member’s medical needs are supported at work. This means allowing them to set boundaries around how much, and how often, they are willing to discuss their condition. They may not have discussed their health with co-workers, so practice discretion unless your employee gives consent to discuss their condition with others in the workplace.
Create a comfortable work space
People with endometriosis often experience a level of discomfort and fatigue at work. For some this may only be for a few days each month and for others it may be near constant. Often this can be managed – or at least made more bearable – through some simple accommodations that have little to no impact on co-workers or the work environment. Talk to your staff member about whether any of the following would be helpful and listen to any other suggestions that they may have:
- Access to facilities to warm up a heat pack or fill a hot water bottle
- A sit/stand desk if working in an office, or a stool/chair if the job requires long periods of standing
- Allowing the employee to leave their workstation for regular breaks
- Flexibility on uniform requirements during flare-ups
- Ensuring the employee can access parking close to their place of work
Embrace flexible working
If our experiences with COVID have taught us anything, it’s that some jobs can be done just as efficiently from home as in the office. For an employee with endo, having the ability to work from home (in comfortable clothes, with ready access to their full range of pain management tools) during a flare-up can make a significant difference to their ability to manage their condition.
Similarly, flexibility about scheduling medical appointments during working hours can be helpful. People with endo often see a range of medical professionals (from endo specialists and pain specialists to physiotherapists, psychologists, and more) and it can be near impossible to arrange these appointments out of standard working hours, so many employees would appreciate being able to schedule these during business hours and catch up on work in their own time.
Additional resources
Endometriosis and the workplace: