Many women suffer with painful periods. Whether it’s just the odd twinge or intense cramping, it can make things pretty difficult for a few days each month.
And now one company thinks it has come up with a solution to make life easier for its female employees – a ‘period policy.’
A UK based firm is planning to create an official document which allows women to take time off when menstruating, without being stigmatised.
It is their hope that it will actually increase productivity and efficiency, by giving women that freedom to stay at home if in too much pain.
Bex Baxter, director of Coexist, told The Guardian:
“I have managed many female members of staff over the years and I have seen women at work who are bent over double because of the pain caused by their periods. Despite this, they feel they cannot go home because they do not class themselves as unwell.
“And this is unfair. At Coexist we are very understanding. If someone is in pain – no matter what kind – they are encouraged to go home. But, for us, we wanted a policy in place which recognises and allows women to take time for their body’s natural cycle without putting this under the label of illness.”
She added that the work culture she is trying to create is one that is in harmony with natural body cycles, with menstruation being a time when women are in their ‘winter state.’
They plan to finalise the policy at a seminar led by Alexandra Pope, who says she wants to create a “positive approach to menstruation and the menstrual cycle.”
