Women often feel compelled to hide hormonal complaints at work: 'They fear that their career opportunities will decrease'

From headaches and fatigue to stomach aches: as many as one in three women in the Netherlands feel compelled to hide their hormonal complaints at work, according to research by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the TNO research institute. Many women fear that colleagues will judge them negatively or look down on them because of their health problems.

Hormonal complaints such as fatigue, headaches , stomach aches, mood swings, and muscle and joint pain appear to be common. A staggering 80 percent of working women report experiencing these sometimes or regularly. Yet, 35 percent feel compelled to conceal these complaints at work. Other health complaints appear less embarrassing: 24 percent of both men and women remain silent about other health complaints.

Women with hormone-related complaints also appear to be more likely to continue working when feeling ill. While 43 percent of employees with other complaints continue working, this figure is 67 percent for women with hormonal complaints. At the same time, more than half of respondents indicate that their hormonal complaints sometimes make them less productive at work, and 29 percent of them indicate that the quality of their work also suffers.

"Women who experience complaints can feel truly limited at work," Karen Oude Hengel, a researcher at TNO, told the AD newspaper . "That means 1.5 million women in total, a large group of working people."

Many women fear that their complaints could negatively impact their careers. "A fifth of women say it's better to keep their complaints hidden, otherwise career prospects will be reduced. I find that very worrying," says Oude Hengel. Employers' attitudes play a significant role in this, she says. "Many employers still consider it a private matter."

A large proportion of respondents also indicated that it's important to raise awareness among managers. More than half of them believe this should be improved. Furthermore, many women also need menstrual leave, as this study shows.