From an early age, Anke Verhagen (45) suffered a lot from her period. Her period lasted eight days each month and was accompanied by many cramps, fatigue and mood swings. Incited to this by her husband Peter de Vroed (54) she decided to do something about it after 26 years. De Vroed: “During her menstruation, it was actually impossible to live with Anke. So I came up with the idea not to take the complaints for granted anymore, but to do something about it.”
Verhagen: „My first reaction was: get over it, what do you know about it. But since I have been consciously working on my cycle and taking my complaints seriously, a lot has changed.”
Verhagen decided to give herself monthly ‘leave’: complete rest during the days when she had the strongest menstruation. No work, appointments or obligations for a while. That helped. Now she has only been menstruating for a day and a half and the pain and mood swings are a thing of the past. She also has “energy for ten” again. Except for that one day a month. “Before I rested, I was dislocated seven days a month. Seven days in which I couldn’t do my job or underperformed.”
When she started looking for a new employer a few years ago, she already indicated during the job interview that she did not want to work two days a month. As far as she was concerned, there was no longer any concession. The employer agreed.
Together with her husband, Verhagen, who is now her own boss as a menstrual counselor and cycle coach, is a strong supporter of paid menstrual leave. Together they founded the Menstrual Information Institute in 2018. They previously conducted an online survey, in 2016, about menstrual pain, to which 1,600 women responded. The bottom line: On average, women only have 53 percent of their energy left during the heaviest days of their periods.
Less labor productivity
In 2019, together with Radboudumc, research was conducted into the impact of menstrual complaints at work. More than 80 percent of the 32,748 surveyed women between the ages of 15 and 45 indicated that they suffered from reduced labor productivity. Two thirds of the respondents would like to work or study more flexibly in that situation, 14 percent sometimes called in sick. Remarkably, only 20 percent of this group gave the real reason. “Talking about menstruation is taboo in the workplace,” says Verhagen. “It’s now being tucked away like it shouldn’t be there.”
The trade union FNV Young & United also investigated the need for menstrual leave. Of the 3,000 respondents under the age of 35, 89 percent said they were less likely to work during menstruation, and 78 percent would use menstrual leave if it weren’t taboo to talk about your period.
“After these results, we can no longer ignore the need for this,” said union leader Hacer Karadeniz. But Karadeniz doubts whether menstrual leave really offers a solution for the complaints that stand in the way of your work. For example, menstrual leave has been around for some time in Japan and South Korea, and recently also in Spain. It is unclear how many women actually use it and whether it is effective.
Karadeniz thinks more will have to change. “The Dutch work culture is rotten. It’s all about productivity. Taking menstrual leave in a company culture where as an employee you are more machine than human; that is easier said than done.”
Menstruation as a disease
Gynecologist Marlies Bongers of the Máxima Medical Center is also positive about menstrual leave. She hopes that such leave will draw more attention to menstrual complaints and that women will dare to report them sooner.
Bongers: “Women think that the pain is simply part of it, but that is not the case. It’s not ‘normal’ that you can’t work because of your period.” But not everyone dares to call in sick every month, she says. While the complaints can be very severe, especially if there is more to it, such as endometriosis, adenomyosis or myomas (fibroids). “When you have contractions like cramps and lose so much blood that you have to go to the bathroom every hour to prevent leakage, it is really impossible to work. Especially if you have to stand in front of the class, for example.”
Gynecologist Judith Huirne of Amsterdam UMC thinks very differently about menstrual leave. She calls it “a plaster on the wrong wound.” Precisely because there may be a more serious underlying cause for menstrual complaints, she fears that menstrual leave will slow down women from looking for a ‘real’ solution. “If your period bothers you so much that you can’t work, taking rest alone is really not good.” Huirne sees taking leave as symptomatic relief, while women have to look for a diagnosis.
Once that is there, it is time to talk to the boss and company doctor at work, says Huirne. “But the same applies to someone who has had a heart attack, for example.
Menstrual complaints with an underlying cause is a disease. Period in itself is not that. If you do treat it that way, you will only increase the inequality between women and men.”
rest leave
That is also the view of HR advisor Sanne Quint, co-owner of HR Expert Bureau. She thinks that menstrual leave will not improve the position of women in the labor market. Take maternity leave, she says. “In practice, I see how this sometimes affects women’s opportunities to their disadvantage and widens the pay gap. It would be a shame if that also happens because of the menstrual leave.”
Quint believes that there should certainly be room for leave during the menstrual period, but would prefer to give it another name. “Like empathy or rest leave – that applies to everyone.”
In principle, any employer can decide for itself to introduce menstrual leave, says Quint. The government does not necessarily have to regulate this. An argument in favor of menstrual leave may be that it saves the employer money, because women call in sick less often. A sick employee also costs money, on average 230 euros per day.
An argument in favor of menstrual leave could be that it saves the employer money, because women call in sick less often
Quint does not see the leave as a universal solution. “Creating an open corporate culture in which everyone can discuss his or her problems is just that.” Then employer and employee can discuss a solution together. Such as working from home on the days of menstruation, or working fewer hours.
This prevents an employee from calling in sick and not disclosing the real reason, says Quint. “The problem is not that women necessarily need menstrual leave, but that employers don’t always pay enough attention to the well-being of their staff.”
Work floor
Anke Verhagen and Peter de Vroed let men feel pain during their workshops with a device that resembles menstrual cramps. “As soon as a male manager or gym teacher experiences this, you don’t have to explain anything to him about the importance of leave, or why a student really can’t always go to the gym when she has her period,” says De Vroed. Menstrual complaints should no longer be just a women’s problem, he believes, men should also contribute to finding a solution.
Menstrual leave could in any case help to make menstrual complaints a topic for discussion in the workplace, thinks Hacer Karadeniz of FNV Young & United. “We have to get rid of the idea that you should not whine and always keep going.”
This year the union is organizing ‘thought sessions’ on how to break the taboo on talking about menstruation. For example, it has already been suggested that it be the task of the works council to pay attention to this, says Karadeniz. “And that employers should be obliged to put sanitary towels and tampons in the toilet areas.”
As far as De Vroed is concerned, menstrual leave is just the beginning. “It’s not just about taking a day off, but being able to set your limits as a woman. Having trouble with your period and admitting it is not a weakness. Always keeping yourself tall is at the expense of your strength.”
Stand up for yourself and, if you feel the need to do so, demand menstrual leave, Verhagen calls on all women. “If you take your cycle seriously, you will naturally feel more powerful. Many of my students have already requested period leave, work fewer hours during their period or work from home. And some have since quit their jobs, if the boss didn’t want to hear about this.”
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of March 1, 2022