PTO for Aunt Flo?

Hey there! Hope your morning’s going great so far. Mine started with an email from my landlord telling us to be on the lookout for a dog that escaped from an apartment and is now running loose through the halls of the building. Relatable Monday vibe if you ask me.

We’re doing something a little different today. Our topic of choice is an important one—menstrual leave. But since I have no experience in that department, I’m tossing it over to my coworkers Gabi, Kinsey, Jenny, and Ali, who know a thing or two (or 27).

Setting the vibe: Surely you already know the answer. But just in case you’ve forgotten: Who runs the world?

—Rod

Paid Menstrual Leave: Does It Help or Hurt Women?

Spain just became the first European country to entitle employees to paid menstrual leave. Individuals with painful periods can take up to three days off a month, with the possibility to extend that to five days in the case of conditions like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

What do the experts think? “I think this moves us forward,” said friend of WorkDaze (coworker??) Sarah Steele AKA The Corporate Mama. “Knowing that they will have this level of support for pain that extends beyond traditional ‘sick leave’ may actually empower women and those with periods to apply for and maintain roles, where they may have otherwise questioned whether their health would come first in a job.”

But not everyone agrees with Sarah. So why is the topic of menstrual leave so hot these days? Let’s talk about the arguments for and the arguments against.

But first…some helpful context:

• A global study focusing on the severity of period pain found that 71% of young menstruators experience severe cramps.

• 20% have missed school due to painful periods.

• And 41% said that painful periods have negative impacts on their school performance.

So should menstrual leave join subsidized therapy and summer Fridays among the ranks of really great workplace benefits? Or is menstrual leave a step in the wrong direction? Here’s what people are saying, so you can decide for yourself (and take this to your boss with all the info you need 💪).

The Arguments in Favor of Menstrual Leave

Productivity: Studies show those who work through their menstrual pain are less productive thanks to discomfort, exhaustion, and pain. In fact, period pain can result in nine days of productivity lost per person per year, according to a 2019 Dutch survey.

Visibility in the workplace: Advocates of menstrual leave believe that it could empower women to feel more seen in the workplace—understanding their bodies is part of understanding them. And means they won’t have to use secret codes and hushed tones to ask their coworkers for a Midol.

Recruiting & retention: Paid menstrual leave is an attractive incentive for the 55% of the US workforce that’s female.

“As someone who has personally curled up in the fetal position in her cubicle at work, I can attest to how debilitating working through a period can be,” Sarah said. And the women of WorkDaze enthusiastically cosign on that sentiment roughly every 28 days.

The Arguments Against Menstrual Leave

Sets women apart: This TikTok by a physician (who, in fairness, got absolutely leveled in the comments) suggests menstrual leave could widen the gap between men and women in the workplace and make women less competitive in the job search. Why? Some employers might be wary of hiring employees who could take three days per month off.

Policy abuse and fairness: The anti-menstrual leave camp argues that offering extra time off to certain employees can be construed as a form of discrimination. They also say that it’s difficult to know just how painful a period is…meaning people who don’t need to lay under a heating pad 24 hours a day for 5 days of the month might abuse a menstrual leave policy.

Disclosure concerns: In a 2021 survey of 1,956 people offered menstrual leave, less than 10% took it. Why so few? They would have had to file for the leave with their “non-menstruating boss.”

So what do you think about menstrual leave? Is it the next four-day workweek, or are we sending ourselves back in time?

P.S. If you’re looking to advocate for better health benefits such as menstrual leave, Sarah has some great advice to get started:

“Speak with your company leaders and HR representatives with examples of health benefits you'd like to see, a proposal for how they would actually work, and highlight how these would in fact benefit the company, too,” Sarah said. “The return on investment companies see when retaining women is huge, and companies have to be told that 1-3 days off for excruciating menstrual pain is a small concession to make for big productivity and employee satisfaction gains.”

Sponsored by HubSpot Podcast Network

When You Don’t Know What an IPO Is but You’re Afraid to Ask…

We have the podcast for that.

Working in corporate America sometimes makes it feel like you have to know every little thing Zuck says. Or the details of every IPO (which, btw, is what happens when a company goes public on a stock exchange, or so I’m told). Or, like, Jim Cramer’s birth chart.

It’s tough…but there’s a podcast for built exactly for understanding all that stuff in a way that doesn’t suck: The Hustle Daily Show. Every weekday, you’ll get your dose of irreverent and informative takes on the latest business and tech news.

Our favorite part about this podcast? It’s not snooty. It’s fun, it’s approachable, it tells us why important stuff matters, and it makes all that enjoyable.

Check out the podcast here→

Things to Slack your work besties

…as you look up “New Girl gifs” during your lunch break

It’s got to be true if TikTok told you, right? The app is now positioning itself as a search engine, and from the results of my “how to move your mouse so you look busy at work” search the other day, it’s safe to say it’s working. In TikTok we trust…?

As someone who wore a fedora in their 6th grade school picture, I can attest that even really talented people can sometimes play the wrong part. I’m in good company with the entire cast of House of Gucci and Emma Watson when she played Belle and Adam Sandler on a couple occasions, according to the internet. Fine by me.

Watch Ashton Kutcher watch snippets from Dude, Where's My Car?, That '70s Show….and Punk’d, ofc! The episode when Beyoncé knocked the Christmas tree over and “ruined” Christmas still lives rent free in my mind.

Thanks so much for reading, hope you have the best week ever! See you back for a little Q&A time on Friday.

IDK WHAT DO I KNOW?! LMAO!

—Rod