Keeping people safe and well is our top priority. This is particularly important in the energy sector where work locations and shift patterns can make it challenging to maintain physical and mental health, and where poor physical and mental health can lead to adverse safety outcomes.
At ESS, we employ over 1,000 people in our Energy business, providing food and FM services to numerous clients offshore, as well as their facilities onshore. Through our employee forum, we seek to understand how we can better support our people with any aspects of their roles, including enhancing their physical and mental health.
Last year, our forum members asked for help to increase menopause awareness within the team to enable them to better support colleagues, customers, family and friends who may be impacted. Our demographic is 75% male, with an average age of 46, so while this was initially a surprising request, it’s clear to see why support is needed.
Research has shown some concerning trends around the adverse impact that menopause can have in the workplace through individuals not fulfilling their potential or leaving the workplace altogether. With menopausal women as a fast-growing workplace demographic, we identified the opportunity to develop a support programme in an area we hadn’t focused on previously.
From the start, the appetite for information was clear. We held an industry engagement event to launch our programme during Menopause Awareness Month in October. 65 people joined the session, including colleagues, clients and industry partners. A diverse panel of experts and stakeholders led an engaging and insightful discussion on menopause-related topics, and we received some brilliant feedback from attendees.
To ensure continued engagement, we’ve developed an ongoing programme of activities and initiatives. These have included eating well for menopause resources created in collaboration with Dr Laura Wyness, awareness events in our units, a menopause-friendly menu competition for our culinary teams and line manager awareness training developed in partnership with Henpicked.
It's been a steep learning curve for everyone involved. Personally, I’ve learnt so much and feel strongly that society doesn’t prepare us for menopause – it will likely impact everyone during their lives, whether directly or indirectly, but GPs don’t always have the training, and many individuals don’t have the knowledge and understanding.
As employers, we have an important role to play, whether that’s supporting a team member experiencing menopausal symptoms, giving people the tools to help a colleague or customer or enabling someone to better assist family or friends.
It's been incredibly satisfying to witness the impact that our work is having. We’ve seen people opening up about a subject I’ve never heard discussed before and that’s our key objective – to get people talking and listening to each other. We’re at the start of the journey, but I firmly believe we’re already making a difference. I’m looking forward to building on this foundation and we’re already busy working on our plans for Menopause Awareness Month 2025!