Menopause at work

Menopause can be hardest in the one place you most need to feel capable: at work. The brain fog that loses you a word mid-sentence in a meeting. The disrupted sleep that leaves you running on empty by mid-afternoon. The anxiety or loss of confidence that arrives out of nowhere and makes a job you have done for years suddenly feel precarious. None of this is a sign you are past it or losing your edge. It is the menopause transition^[1], in combination with a working culture that still rarely makes room for it.

If perimenopause or menopause is affecting your working life - your confidence, your performance, your sense of whether this role is still right - coaching can help. It is not about pretending nothing has changed; it is about helping you work out what you actually need, how to ask for it, and what you want your working life to look like from here.

This is one of the most common reasons women come to me, and it is an area where my background is particularly helpful: alongside my menopause and coaching training, I spent years in People and HR, so I understand the workplace side as well as the personal one.

Why work is so often where menopause bites

For many women, home and relationships may be able to flex around the menopause transition in a way that work simply does not. Deadlines do not move. Meetings do not pause. The expectation to perform at the level you always have stays exactly where it was, even as the resources you are drawing on shift underneath you. Common ways this shows up:

• Brain fog and word-finding - losing your thread, forgetting names, struggling with the recall and multitasking your role takes for granted
• Fatigue from disrupted sleep - running on far less than you used to, with no obvious way to say so
• Anxiety and lost confidence - second-guessing decisions you would once have made without a thought, sometimes for the first time in your career
• Mood and irritability - a shorter fuse, or a flatness, that is easily misread by others and by you as "not coping" or "disengaged"
• Physical symptoms in the room - hot flushes, heavy, random bleeding or pain, all to be managed discreetly while you carry on as normal
• The fear of being found out - the exhausting work of holding it together so no one notices, often at the very age when you are most senior and most visible

Layer that onto a culture only just beginning to talk about menopause openly, and it is no wonder so many capable women quietly conclude the problem must be them.

Who this coaching is for

This coaching is for women whose working life is being affected by perimenopause or menopause, whether you have had it confirmed or simply know something has shifted. You might be:

• Finding your performance or confidence at work has dropped, and unsure why
• Dreading meetings, presentations or decisions that used to feel routine
• Wondering whether, how and to whom to disclose what you are going through
• Wanting to ask for adjustments or flexibility but unsure what is reasonable or how to frame it
• Weighing up whether to stay, step back, change roles, or leave altogether
• Worried that menopause is quietly derailing a career you have worked hard for
• Navigating menopause at work alongside ADHD, autism or a late diagnosis of either
• Senior enough that there is no one above you it feels safe to talk to about this

Although I primarily work with cis women, my coaching is open to anyone whose experience of hormonal change has been shaped by being read as a woman, or by being assigned female at birth (AFAB). That includes people going through menopause at the usual age and those experiencing it earlier, whether through premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), surgical, chemical or medical menopause. Whatever your gender or identity, and whenever in life your hormonal changes have arrived, if my approach resonates, you are welcome to book a discovery call.

What this coaching looks like

Making sense of what is happening

Early sessions are usually about getting a clear, honest picture of what is going on, separating what is hormonal from what is circumstantial, and naming the impact on your work without either minimising it or catastrophising it. For a lot of women, simply having somewhere to say "I think menopause is affecting my work and I do not know what to do about it", out loud, to someone who will not flinch, is a relief in itself.

Deciding what you need, and how to ask for it

From there, the work often turns practical. What would actually help: adjustments to your hours, your environment, your workload, your meeting patterns? What is reasonable to ask for, and how do you frame the conversation? Do you want to disclose, and if so, to whom and how much? My HR background means we can think this through realistically - what tends to land well, what your employer is likely to consider, and how to go into the conversation prepared rather than exposed.

The bigger question: does this role still fit?

For some women, menopause does not just create problems to manage, it raises a deeper question about whether the working life they have is the one they still want. Sometimes the answer is to stay and reshape the role. Sometimes it is to plan a change. Sometimes it is to use this period to work that out properly, without rushing. If your midlife and menopause coaching opens into a fuller career rethink, we can hold that too.

My background and approach

I spent years working in People and HR in high-growth start-ups, media and professional services, so I understand how workplace policies actually work in practice, what flexible-working and adjustment requests realistically involve, and how to have the conversations that get you what you need.

Alongside that, I have trained with the British Menopause Society in CBT for Menopause Symptoms and with the International Menopause Society, I run a specialist therapy practice focused on the menopause transition and hormones, and I provide training for other coaches and therapists on this stage. I am an EMCC Global Accredited Senior Practitioner in Coaching and a BACP-accredited counsellor and clinical supervisor, which means I can hold the emotional and identity side of menopause at work, not just the logistics.

I bring personal lived experience of hormonal change too, and I have spoken about menopause and mental health for HuffPost, SELF, the Disordered podcast and the Clearly Clinical professional development podcast, including the episode "Mind, Mood and Menopause: Understanding Hormonal Transitions in Mental Health Care", and provided information sessions and training at a range of organisations from schools to Thomson Reuters.

If menopause at work is prompting a broader rethink, you might find my free Transition Workbook a useful place to start.

Menopause at work FAQs

Should I tell my employer I am going through menopause?

That is entirely your decision, and there is no single right answer. Disclosure can open the door to support and adjustments, but it has to feel safe and worthwhile to you in your particular workplace. A lot of our work can be thinking this through: who you would tell, how much, what you would ask for, and what you want out of the conversation. The aim is for you to make a deliberate, informed choice, rather than either blurting it out under pressure or carrying it all silently.

What workplace adjustments can help with menopause?

It varies a lot depending on your role and symptoms, but common ones include flexibility around hours or start times, more control over temperature and ventilation, a quieter or more private workspace, changes to meeting patterns, and flexibility around breaks. Around a quarter of UK employers now have a stated menopause policy or support in place, and many more are open to reasonable adjustments.^[2] We can work out what would genuinely help you and how to ask for it.

Can coaching help if menopause is knocking my confidence at work?

Yes, this is one of the most common things women bring. The confidence knock that can come with the menopause transition is real, but it is not permanent and it is not the truth about your ability. We will work on rebuilding it in a grounded way, alongside the practical changes that take some of the pressure off.

Is this coaching or therapy? And do you do the medical side?

It is coaching - forward-focused and collaborative. I do not provide clinical menopause care; HRT, investigations and the treatment of physical symptoms are for your GP or menopause clinic, and many clients work with both alongside our coaching. Because I am also a qualified counsellor with specialist menopause training, I can hold the emotional weight of this stage; if it becomes clear you need therapy rather than coaching, I will say so and we can talk about options.

My employer offers menopause coaching as a benefit. Can I use it with you?

Yes, possibly - some employers fund menopause coaching as part of their wellbeing benefits. If yours does and you would like to work with me, ask the relevant person at your organisation to get in touch, or we can talk through the process on your discovery call.

I think menopause has shown up alongside ADHD or autism. Can you help with both?

Yes, and this is a particular focus of mine. For many women, perimenopause is what makes a lifetime of undiagnosed ADHD or autism visible^[3], and it can hit hardest at work. I have specialist training in both and a dedicated page on this intersection.

Should I change jobs because of menopause?

Maybe, maybe not, and you do not have to decide right now, in the thick of the transition. Sometimes the right move is to reshape your current role; sometimes menopause genuinely clarifies that something needs to change. We will work on what you actually want, rather than reacting to a tough patch, so that whatever you decide is an active choice and not just an escape.

How long do people usually work with you?

Most clients start with a block of six sessions, every one or two weeks. Some do a shorter, focused piece of work, such as preparing for a specific conversation with their manager, and others stay longer while they work through bigger changes. We will talk about what suits you on your discovery call.

Is the coaching online?

Yes, sessions are online via Zoom or by telephone, which works well around a working week and gives you the privacy of doing this from your own space.

Menopause at work alongside other transitions

Menopause at work rarely sits on its own. You can read more about:

• Midlife and menopause coaching - the broader pillar page on navigating perimenopause and menopause
• Career coaching - for when menopause is surfacing a bigger question about your working life
• ADHD, autism and menopause coaching - for the particular intersection of neurodivergence and the menopause transition
• ADHD and autism coaching - the wider page on ADHD, autism and AuDHD
• Life transition coaching - for the broader shifts that often arrive alongside this stage

Ready to talk?

I offer a free 30-minute discovery call so we can explore whether coaching feels like the right support for you right now. You do not need to have it all worked out - "menopause is affecting my work and I do not know what to do about it" is a completely valid place to start.

Book a discovery call or get in touch to ask a question.