BE A ROUND PEG IN A ROUND HOLE

Author Mark Simmonds explains how important it is to fi nd the right fi t in your career

IF YOU WANT to give yourself the best possible chance of en oying a rewarding career, able to fulfi l the loftiest of ambitions, it s important that you re able to choose a path where you are able to minimise bad stress as much as possible. ne way of doing this is to treat your ob in the same way you would treat a personal relationship. In other words, look for employment where there is close alignment between your own needs and values and those of the company you are working for. f there is misalignment between the two for too long, the pressure will mount and it will more than likely end in tears. Fit is everything. had ust started working for nilever, one of the largest companies in the world. ts household brands, like Dove, A e, nor, Magnum and Domestos are available in over 0 countries. nilever also has one of the most respected management trainee programmes for young people who want to forge a career in marketing. oined when was 2 , working for irds ye Wall s and was pretty proud of my achievement. My career was now neatly laid out in front of me and the future seemed bright.

Twelve months later found myself pacing up and down in the basement of the irds ye Wall s building liked a caged animal. was alone, surrounded only by freezers full of frozen peas, beef burgers and fi sh fi ngers and my own confused thoughts. was trying to work out why I was suddenly feeling so anxious and was incapable of completing the most basic of tasks at my desk upstairs. needed a bit of head space, away from people, to think clearly and work out what on earth was going on in my frazzled mind. At the time, I was only a trainee, the lowest of the low. Admittedly, I had now been handed a little more responsibility and people in the team were relying on me to get things done, but I was still a relatively insignifi cant cog in the wheel.

When I was writing my book, Beat Stress at Work, many years later, used the Matchmaker framework to help me pinpoint what the root problem had been back then. This identifi es a number of characteristics that defi ne the D A of both the company and the individual. The goal is to try and ensure that there are as many matches as possible, because the more matches there are, the more aligned the needs of both parties will be. And the less likely that ‘bad’ stress will rear its ugly head. n the Matchmaker table for irds ye Wall s and me it was only team orientation where alignment existed between both parties. For really crucial pairings like focus on people development versus focus on task completion, bias toward introverts versus bias toward e troverts, the company and were misaligned. And over a period of time, this misalignment began to cause me more and more bad stress. The cracks soon started to appear.

Like any relationship, the less you have in common with one another, the more pressure it will put on both of you to survive together let alone thrive together. Stress levels will start to rise.

Round pegs are meant for round holes.

Mark Simmonds runs a creativity agency called G S and is the author of Beat Stress at Work.

Armed with knowledge

Julie Colan from Your Health Care Academy recommends businesses become much more clued up about their employees, menstruation and the menopause

THE MENOPAUSE CAN be a confusing and exhausting time. Without proper education and support women can feel so alone, particularly in the workplace. It’s not uncommon for women to leave their jobs when approaching and during their menopause because of lack of support and struggling with symptoms.

We all have days when we’re not able to perform at our best. Heavy periods, brain fog, anxiety. Why should women have to feel that they need to push through when they re not firing on all cylinders, because of shame, fear or embarrassment? What would happen if we knew our employers fully understood our symptoms or that we were able to work e ibly What if companies could offer mental health days either as e i leave or paid leave when their employees were feeling below par?

The results could be a much happier workforce with reduced absenteeism and greater productivity knowing their company is at the forefront of women’s healthcare. How amazing would this be to seen as standard?

We deliver Menopause in the Workplace courses to businesses around the UK. We give women the education and support they need and deserve so they can understand what their menopause is and where they can get support if they need it.

So what exactly is menopause?

It is easier to think of menopause as being a three part cycle. Every woman will go through the menopause, with the exception of those who have had their ovaries removed before puberty. The first phase is perimenopause, followed by the menopause and then post menopause.

Perimenopause is the beginning of menopause. It usually starts in the late 30s or early 40s. It is the transition period from the fertile reproductive period to the non-fertile menopausal period. There are no clearly defined limits to perimenopause but it usually lasts for about four years (stretching to as many as 8-20 years in some).

Some symptoms of perimenopause (these are just a few and are not the same for all women) are irregular bleeding patterns, hot ashes, poor se drive, watery discharge, mood swings, brain fog, incontinence and sleep problems.

Menopause is the end of the monthly menstrual bleeding. It usually happens in the late 40s or early 50s. During the menopause the hormonal signallers which tell the uterus to shed its lining are in much shorter supply and oestrogen and progesterone levels drop rapidly and menstrual bleeding ends.

The menopause is defined as the end of one full year without menstrual bleeds and is actually a single point in time/a single day.

Treatment and support for menopause.

The main treatment for menopausal symptoms is hormone replacement therapy (HRT) which replaces the hormones that are missing, particularly low oestrogen. T is e tremely effective at relieving menopausal symptoms and is available in many forms such as tablets, skin patches, implants or gels and creams. It can help relieve symptoms like hot ashes, brain fog, oint pain, mood swings and vaginal dryness. HRT can also help prevent bone thinning which can lead to fractures (which is more common after menopause). Unfortunately many women’s menopause symptoms are confused with signs of depression.

Other treatments and lifestyle changes can be implemented depending on the symptoms experienced. Wearing light clothing, having cool showers or losing excess weight can all help to ease hot ashes. Avoiding triggers like alcohol or caffeine can also be helpful. Doing meditation or yoga can be helpful for mood swings and easing stress. Talking therapies might also be useful. For vaginal dryness/atrophy oestrogen cream or pessaries can be prescribed. Using vaginal lubricants is also useful if sex is uncomfortable.

Menstruation

Just as there is often a lack of information in the workplace about menopause and menstruation, our education system also does not address the menstrual cycle in terms of what is healthy and normal and what is not. This results in many girls and women suffering for years without receiving the correct medical care.

We offer menstruation courses which cover this and the conditions and disorders related to menstruation. We also offer mental health first aid courses. f your business or place of work would benefit from up to date and relevant information for your male and female employees or colleagues, contact bookings@yourhealthcareacademy.com.