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Bidvest Noonan has signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge and launched a new menopause support tool kit to ensure people across the group are supported and feel comfortable discussing their needs as they experience menopause.
Developed by the charity Wellbeing of Women, the Menopause Workplace Pledge requires signatories to:
- Recognise that the menopause can be an issue in the workplace and women need support
- Talk openly, positively, and respectfully about the menopause
- Actively support and inform employees affected by the menopause
Menopause can be a challenging time and symptoms can be debilitating and last several years. Women usually experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average age being 51, however, menopause can also occur at a younger age.
Menopause can also affect people from transgender, non-binary and intersex communities, and its symptoms and impact can vary among different groups. Men, especially those in their late 40s and early 50s, can also experience ‘male menopause’ which involves the development of physical and emotional symptoms.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) states that three out of five working women between the ages of 45- 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work.
Bidvest Noonan’s new menopause support tool kit aims to make the business an inclusive place workplace. The toolkit sets out how colleagues experiencing menopause can be supported, including how reasonable adjustments can be made to working practices and working environments for affected employees to ensure their comfort and wellbeing.
Mary Kealy, Managing Director, Workplace Solutions at Bidvest Noonan said: “While the topic of menopause is not typically something that comes up in conversation at work, this can be where people find their symptoms most difficult to manage. We feel it is important to make it easier to talk about menopause and provide support for people experiencing challenging symptoms, therefore we have also implemented the role of Menopause Champion so our people can speak freely and feel comfortable they are supported.”
Emma Rahim, HR Director added: “We feel it is important to dispel the taboo surrounding this topic. We are working to ensure our people are well informed about the menopause and enabling them to access support and resources. We want to ensure that our people see menopause as a natural phase and feel confident discussing their needs with us and how we can support them in the workplace.”
According to Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index, worldwide parcel volume is likely to double in the next five years, with the UK showing the highest increase in carrier revenue of all 13 countries in the Index.
Alongside a huge uptake in the volume of parcel volume and spend, post pandemic, the adoption of hybrid working patterns means that FMs need to find ways to enable staff to book / host collaborative meetings in available workspaces and to find desk, office and parking spaces by utilising automation and data capture to enable site governance.
Yet a recent survey by FMJ in partnership with Pitney Bowes found that 20 per cent of recipients are still using manual paper-based visitor systems, which doesn’t fit with their top priority – to maintain a safe and operational environment.
This overwhelming reliance on paper-based systems is causing many respondents bottlenecks, resulting in a lack of efficiently in logging and tracking packages and people coming into the organisation.
In this webinar, Gary Abbott Director of Business Development and Stuart Bushaway, Head of Dealers Operations and FM Relationships at Pitney Bowes will outline the main findings of the two surveys and what this could mean for FMs, followed by a discussion, chaired by FMJ Editor Sara Bean with a panel of thought leaders into the solutions available to meet these challenges.
Register for the webinar here.
