Nellsar Care Homes aims to become a menopause-friendly company after a staff survey revealed a need for further support.

Nellsar Care Homes, which operates 13 homes across Kent, Surrey and Essex, marked World Menopause Day October 18 with educational activities designed to encourage open conversation and learning.

A follow-up survey found 70% of those going through the menopause said they hadn’t mentioned how it is affecting them to management. The top request for support was access to uniforms with more breathable fabric, followed by having more information available. Three in five respondents said they wanted to learn more about the perimenopause and menopause and how symptoms can affect people.

The main symptoms reported among staff going through the menopause were hot flushes, reduced concentration, increased stress and reduced confidence in ability.

Viv Stead, recreation and wellbeing manager at Nellsar, said: “It was great to get people talking on World Menopause Day and following on from that, we thought the best way to make a genuine difference to our amazing teams is to actually find out their opinions. So we conducted the survey and this has helped identify some great opportunities to further educate teams, and ultimately, dismantle any apprehensions or stigmas of what is a very natural thing for all women.”

She added: “Going through the menopause can be immensely challenging, and sometimes, work-life can become more difficult. I think it is the responsibility of employers to recognise these changes and be as versatile as possible. We want all of our teams to feel valued and supported and we look forward to making even more progress going forward.”