This Disease Affects Women’s Productivity at Workplace
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Despite being an essential resource to drive economic growth, women don't receive enough attention regarding the relationship between their reproductive health and employment, especially concerning stigmatised issues such as endometriosis.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a gynaecological disorder related to the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. This condition is a source of sometimes excruciating physical pain for sufferers and has been linked to productivity loss in the workplace. It manifests in pain every time the sufferer is on period.
Dr Sharifah Halimah Jaafar, consultant gynaecologist and pelvic pain specialist, said 70% to 80% of women who suffer chronic pelvic ache and 30% to 50$ of couples with infertility are because of endometriosis.
Moreover, this chronic inflammatory disease affects 10% to 15% of women during their reproductive age. Most of them are young women.
Sharifah Halimah said that one of the key areas where a woman's life is affected by endometriosis is at work. Studies show that endometriosis-related symptoms negatively affect general women's quality of life and their work productivity.
A global poll showed that symptoms such as menstrual pain, abdominal pain, pelvic pain, incapacitating pain and infertility might predict poor work performance.
Endometriosis is often dismissed at work
Sharifah Halimah stated that pathological pain during periods is always normalised, trivialised, and dismissed, which discouraged women from describing their problems to their coworkers and employers to obtain support.
She said some women do not talk about their disorder at work to avoid being seen as lazy or hypochondriacal. (Hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively worried about having a severe illness.)
She added that women avoid disclosing it to male coworkers or supervisors as it can be awkward to some as such issues related to menstruation are perceived as taboo. According to her, many female workers with endometriosis quit their jobs which is detrimental to employers and employees in the long run.
Surita Mogan, the Endometriosis Association (MyEndosis) founder, stated that due to a lack of awareness among employers, women with endometriosis are often demoted or terminated, which is a waste of resources.
She said that employers should take the initiative to attend talks about endometriosis and educate their employees on its symptoms. She added that Malaysians should not pretend and close their eyes to this issue which is more of a biological problem and not due to the employees' attitude at work.
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About 10% to 15% of women suffer from endometriosis.
Managing endometriosis at work
Some reports found women who work in supportive organisations can manage their pain and work better as they do not feel alone.
Sharifah Halimah stressed that it is crucial to create awareness and develop strategies that guide women and employers to find ways to manage endometriosis symptoms to reduce productivity loss.
Gender issues and the complex nature of endometriosis have led to too many misconceptions about the disorder.
She said that many women with endometriosis face significant challenges during a 'flare-up' to cope with their symptoms and at the same time focus on their work.
Want to understand more about endometriosis?
To help employers understand endometriosis and receive guidance on how HR managers can support female employees in chronic pain, Gleneagles Hospital Medini Johor is conducting a hybrid seminar on March 31.
On-site participation is at Holiday Villa, and online participation is open to participants countrywide. For reservation, those who wish to participate can call Michelle Teoh at 013-7522168 or Khairul Annuar at 012-6362773.
Source: The Sun