Educating members of the team on menopause is creating understanding and empathy.

Jozi Stables, Home Manager, Renaissance Care's Glencairn Care Home - Edinburgh. 

Earlier this year, Renaissance Care, announced that it was creating menopause friendly environments as part of their cultural review. It was a step taken to ensure that as an employer, they were committed to being a fully inclusive organisation and supportive to the needs of the people who work within it.

As a manager, I was aware of what menopause is, but my knowledge around the topic was limited. I thought it was important to undertake training so that I could best support members of my team who may be going through menopause, or perimenopause, and have a better understanding of what some colleagues were facing.

I found the menopause training to be extremely informative and it has certainly enhanced my understanding and empathy for those going through this. Not only did it provide facts and figures on how many females this impacted on a daily basis, it also highlighted symptoms that I had never previously considered.

A big eye-opener for me was the impact this often had on people’s mental health, affecting not only their own personal confidence and self-esteem, but also the impact it had on their family, relationships and their career.  

As a young manager in the care sector, it has given me a new perspective on the topic and how I can support my staff team and my colleagues. I think it is great that this training is being offered to all people within the organisation, for example, we had a male colleague present at the training and it was really interesting and reassuring to have a different perspective on this topic, it really added to the level of learning.  

I will certainly be working with my team to make sure the conversation around menopause is open and informative. It would be great to break down barriers to enable people to feel confident enough to speak about their symptoms and talk about solutions that may support them during their time within the workplace.

Inevitably, I want a happy and healthy home for my staff as well as my residents. This is one small step I can actively take to really make a difference and support staff wellbeing.