Endometriosis – An Invisible Disability in the Workplace

Endometriosis is a condition whereby tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body. This extra tissue can cause pain, sickness, and general health problems for the person involved. People living with endometriosis can experience very painful periods with a heavier flow than others and associated sickness.

Living with endometriosis can be very difficult. As well as the physical symptoms, living with the condition can cause the person involved to develop mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. There are also fertility issues linked to endometriosis. This is something that can cause great upset and stress for both the person involved and their partner.

Despite the fact that the condition affects 1 in 10 women in their fertile years, it is still something that we as a society know quite little about. Women’s menstrual health is often misunderstood and left out of important discussions, often due to stigma and perceived shame.

It is vital for women’s menstrual health and conditions such as endometriosis to be discussed. There needs to be more awareness of how women are affected by these topics. There also needs to be improvements in how they are supported through such experiences. 

Endometriosis is something that can greatly affect someone’s work life, even causing them to lose their job. So, we think it is very important to use this blog to talk about and bring some visibility to this “invisible disability”. 

How Can Endometriosis Affect Work?

The symptoms of endometriosis can make it very difficult for a person to work in the same way someone else would. The pain and physical symptoms mean they might need more time off work or reduced hours in order to manage these symptoms. They also may find their mental health suffering as they try to keep up with work and manage their symptoms at the same time. 

Someone struggling with endometriosis symptoms at work may present themselves as quite withdrawn. They may leave themselves out of conversations and social events. They may also miss work and work-related events quite frequently. This means that they may find it harder to bond with other co-workers and to network successfully. 

Those working with long-term health conditions generally find that their work performance, social connections, and general work happiness decline over time without the right support and understanding. This can ultimately lead them to leave their job altogether. 

How Can People with Endometriosis Get the Support They Need?

In order to get the right support, it is key that people with endometriosis are able to disclose their condition to their employers. While it is certainly not a legal requirement, it is often the only way to get what you need.

Talking to your employer openly and honestly about what you experience and how it affects work is the first step in getting the right support. Once they know what you are going through, they can then offer appropriate measures and reasonable adjustments to help you manage your job in a better way. As endometriosis is a long-term and impactful condition, you are legally entitled to the reasonable adjustments you need in the workplace. 

If your employer is worried about the financial impact of making the adjustments you need, you can apply to the Access to Work scheme to get financial support. It is always worth checking out what funding and financial support you are entitled to as someone with a disability. It is often more than you may imagine. 

While you are getting support at work, it is also vital to get support outside of work. Endometriosis is challenging to live with and it is important to get as much support and advice as you can. Some great external avenues of support to check out are:

• Endometriosis UK
• Wellbeing of Women 
• Pain UK

It is also worth talking to your GP or a private counsellor about how your mental health may be affected. Physical and mental health go hand in hand and it is important to make sure both sides are being cared for.

How Can Employers Help 

For people with endometriosis to work happily and healthily, employers need to keep up their side of the deal too. A lot of employers may not know how to appropriately approach issues to do with women’s menstrual health. This can impact the support women do or don’t get. Regardless of whether someone feels comfortable talking about menstrual health or not, women at work deserve support with it, so this discomfort must be overcome. 

To help with endometriosis at work, employers should:

• Work on the inclusivity and accessibility of their workplace and its culture. Do people feel comfortable talking about conditions they have? Is women’s health still taboo? All of this should be examined and reconsidered.

• Run training and awareness sessions on common conditions and disabilities. Disability awareness training is a great tool to make sure that these topics are being handled correctly by all members of staff. 

• Reconsider their own internal and unconscious bias around periods, menstruation, and conditions such as endometriosis. 

• Respond to reasonable adjustment requests quickly and with compassion.

• Be flexible and responsive to employee needs. 

• Consult the Disability-Confident government scheme and consider membership. 

If you need more help with being an accessible and disability-friendly employer, you can find the information you need on Careers with Disabilities. Our tools and resources can support you on your accessibility journey. 

Check out our services for employers and how you can post on our disability-friendly job board. 

A Final Word

People living with endometriosis can struggle significantly at work. So, they need support. They also need to work for disability-friendly employers who will be prepared to offer what they need.

If you fall into this category and you want to find an accessible employer of your own, you can do so with our disability-friendly job board on Careers with Disabilities. 

We believe everyone deserves a work opportunity that keeps them healthy and happy. Let us find the right one for you.