I read an article recently about how a British company had introduced a policy to allow women to take time off work during their time of the month. I understand the rationale around the thinking that if someone is in pain, no matter what kind, they should be allowed to go home especially if they are unable to work, but can’t help but wonder if this just creates more of a gender equity gap.
This is not a new way in thinking, Japan has had these types of policies in place for the last 70 years and if it didn’t work you would assume that after 70 years the idea would fade, so it must work to a degree.
Griselda’s thoughts are that “This will only undermine women and enforce stereotypes that limit women’s progression in the work place. Are deals and important meetings going to wait till the so called “period leave” is over?”
I personally can’t help but wonder what this does for productivity and staff morale within the work place and I would worry about missing out on opportunities because I wasn’t present. Plus where does the policy stop, would you also need to have policies for pregnancy and menopausal women? It is definitely one to consider if you are thinking of future-proofing your HR sickness policy. I can imagine this is such a difficult thing to manage for small businesses employing women but maybe a little easier for large corporates.
While I think it is a brave step by some, I am not sure how this would fit into British businesses, but I may be proved wrong. But it is definitely one to be aware of if you employ women staff members.