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💼 Part 3: The Cost of Silence — What Happens When We Ignore Menopause

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Oonagh Grace

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Part 3 of the OMG Menopause at Work series — where we shine a light on what happens when the silence stays deafening.

Here’s the truth no one wants to admit: menopause is already affecting your workplace — whether you talk about it or not.

When companies ignore menopause, the consequences ripple far beyond one person’s discomfort. We’re talking about productivity, retention, culture, and — yes — billions of dollars lost each year.

So, what’s really going on?

🚨 The Numbers Don’t Lie

In Australia alone:

  • 83% of women say menopause symptoms negatively affect their work performance.
  • 70% don’t feel comfortable talking to their manager about it.
  • 1 in 2 have taken time off because of symptoms.
  • 1 in 10 have left the workforce entirely due to menopause.

That’s talent walking out the door — often at the exact moment women have the most experience, insight, and leadership potential to offer.

💔 What Ignoring Menopause Looks Like

When workplaces pretend menopause isn’t happening, here’s what you actually get:

  • Brain Drain – women stepping away, taking decades of wisdom with them.
  • Toxic Culture – colleagues whispering or joking instead of supporting.
  • Gender Imbalance – fewer senior women staying long-term.
  • Missed Innovation – because diverse voices are literally missing from the table.

It’s not just unfair — it’s bad business.

🌪 The Ripple Effect

A silent workplace breeds stress, shame, and burnout. And guess what? That doesn’t just affect the person in menopause. It impacts teams, morale, and outcomes.

Menopause might start in the body, but it spreads into systems — HR, leadership, culture.

💖 The OMG Truth

When you support women through menopause, you’re not just doing the “right” thing — you’re doing the smart thing. You retain great people, build loyalty, and send a message that inclusion actually means something.

This is the new DEI frontier — diversity, equity, and inclusion includes hormones.

💬 OMG Takeaway:
Silence is expensive. Talking is free. Let’s swap the hush for honest conversations — because ignoring menopause costs everyone.

— Oonagh Margaret Grace (OMG)
omgway.blog | @omgway

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Hello,

I’m Oonagh

I am the writer behind OMG: The Women’s Health Brief, where I break the silence around perimenopause, menopause, and the medical OMG moments women are too often told to “just accept.” Drawing on my own experiences with hormone therapy and medical gaslighting — and my work as a transition coach helping women navigate midlife — I aim to support and inform women as they move through this stage of life and beyond.

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Welcome to OMG: The Women’s Health Brief — a space for breaking the silence around women’s health. From the chaos of perimenopause to the crash landings of menopause — and every baffling, frustrating, and overlooked medical moment in between — this blog shares the stories, research, and resources women deserve but don’t always receive.

Break the silence