Although in Asian countries like Japan, South Korea or Taiwan the cancellations due to painful rules They have been around for a few yearsthey are still rare bird. Without going any further, Spain is a pioneer in the EU (Italy tried it in 2017but it did not come to fruition) and the measure came not without controversy before and after approval. Because periods and pain are managed privately, but they have a profound impact on people’s health… and also on the economy.
How much does a period cost at work?. A recent study published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues How the rule affects Australia’s economy makes its importance clear: 14 billion Australian dollars a year alone in lost productivity (about 8.54 billion euros at the exchange rate). And the calculations are conservative in that they do not include health or treatment costs.
The rule, in figures. The first menstruation arrives at approximately 12 years of age and since then it occurs more or less regularly every 21 – 34 days until menopause arrives, around the age of 45 – 55. We are talking about between 400 and 600 periods throughout life (except interruptions in the form of hormonal contraceptives or pregnancy).
The rule, in discomfort. And if we leave the quantitative and go to the qualitative, for the majority it means a period of discomfort in the form of menstrual pain and bleeding. in the studio They speak of 90% of women under 25 years of age with dysmenorrhea, more intense pain during the first two days.
Likewise, it is also quite common to experience fatigue, dizziness, lower back pain and headaches. He heavy menstrual bleeding It results in blood loss that causes a feeling of tiredness or fatigue (among other things, due to loss of iron). The study quantifies between 20 and 25% of those surveyed.
The study. To carry out the research, they interviewed 1,796 Australian women with paid jobs of different age ranges (from 18 years old) to find out how common menstrual pain and other symptoms are and what the impact was on their work productivity in terms of presenteeism and absenteeism. Or what is the same: go to work but be at half speed or directly miss work.
It hurts me. They came to a conclusion: those with periods between the ages of 35 and 44 suffered a noticeably greater loss of productivity than the younger ones. However, 97% had suffered menstrual pain in the last three months and 1 in 4 said they always had pain.
Worldwide, menstrual pain is around 71% and only in Spainthe Spanish Contraception Society reports that almost half have to take medication for pain. From here, they calculated the range of economic impact: 7,176 Australian dollars per person per year, for a total of 14,005 million dollars.
Why is it important. Because it provides economic data that is sufficiently impactful so that the management of menstrual symptoms at work is not managed individually and in isolation, falling on those affected, but rather from a collective and institutional level. As resume The research team itself “highlights the strong economic case for governments and companies to adopt policies that help people manage menstrual symptoms.”
That is, with laws and policies that standardize and regulate to homogenize and streamline individual procedures in companies, but also with dialogues within the company to introduce changes in working conditions aimed at improving the productivity, health and well-being of the workforce. Among the measures proposed by the team, the modalities of teleworking or hybrid work or the schedule flexibility.
Cover | Annika Gordon
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