MAKING WAVES COLUMN
Should Women Get Paid Time Off For Menstruation?
In Spain, a new law has been passed that allows women government-paid time off for those with disabling periods
Sunday, February 11, 2024, 16:24
Since my period started when I was twelve years old, I have had to deal with painful cramps on the first day or two of my period. As I’ve gotten older, the pain isn’t as intense, but I do start cramps up to two days before my period even starts.
Lucky me!?
Some of my friends have never had painful periods. One of my friends doesn’t seem to notice anything about her changing hormones, whereas I am hyper-aware and have been for decades now.
I am so sensitive that I can tell when I’m ovulating, because I can feel the stabbing pain of an egg (maybe more these days) being released from one of my ovaries. They alternate sides.
I also notice the exuberant energy boost I get during this time, and try to take full advantage of it. It’s when I can get away with sleeping less and still feel pretty damn good, while doing a wide variety of things.
Then my estrogen levels drop, and progesterone rises, which signals my body to start the shedding of my uterine lining, otherwise known as my period.
There’s a GIF I’ve used for the past few years that shows a woman laid up on her couch with a red, hot water bottle pressed against her lower tummy. It says, “I was sabotaged by my baby box.” It makes me smile every time. I’ve used it countless times while texting friends to let them know of my current state.
When I used to work as a professional massage therapist, it was always much harder when I had my period, especially if it started that morning before I had to go to work. Ugh!
That was the worst.
Thankfully, my period was, and is currently, pretty damn predictable, which is a huge help when trying to plan around it.
I would schedule myself off when I expected to get it, and sometimes worked other days or hours to help make up for the money I lost — since I didn’t get any paid days off.
One of my co-workers used to go home, turn off her phone, and not return to work, even when she was booked an entire afternoon or evening when she had her period.
I felt really bad for her, but she was a grown woman in her thirties. She should have been more communicative with our manager about leaving work for the day. She eventually was fired because of it, after the umpteenth time it happened.
My current job gives me paid time off from work for vacations and sick days. I don’t abuse this privilege and appreciate it immensely, since most of the jobs I worked in America gave me little to no vacation days or paid sick days.
However, I have learned to know when to call out sick when my body is overly taxed, as a result of my menstrual cycle. It’s not every month. Some months are better than others. It’s up to me to know myself and what I can handle.
Two of my co-workers with whom I work closely are men. So many times, I’ve wanted to be honest with them and tell them that I’m struggling due to menstrual cramps or menstruation-related issues, such as headaches, backaches, frequent trips to the bathroom, and extreme fatigue.
I’m never honest with them though. I tell them I’m not feeling so well. I might say that I have stomach issues, but I wish I worked in an environment where I could just openly say, “I’m bleeding from my crotch and my cramps are fucking killing me!”
There are female co-workers with whom I feel comfortable enough to share such things, but I don’t see them often or have enough time to share.
One of my German friends told me that her company provides feminine products to employees for free, which I think is fantastic. I had forgotten to take a pad or tampon to work before when my period started and it sucked to have to ask around for something, including painkillers.
How nice it would be if there were a stash somewhere for us to take freely as we wish.
The same German friend is the one who told me that Germany might pass a law similar to Spain’s, that offers paid time off for women with severe menstrual-related discomfort. A doctor’s note would be required, but they are not hard to get.
There is a lot of resistance to this law being implemented and enforced. However, I firmly believe it’s a step in the right direction.
If men were forced to work in pain, nausea, and even vomiting, I think laws in regard to this would have already been put in place.
“It’s such a lightning rod for feminists,” Elizabeth Hill, an associate professor at the University of Sydney who has extensively studied menstrual leave policies worldwide, told Euronews Next.
The debates around menstrual are often intense, she said, with concern focused on whether such a policy can help or hinder women.
“Is it liberating? Are these policies that recognise the reality of our bodies at work and seek to support them? Or is this a policy that stigmatises, embarrasses, is a disincentive for employing women?”
“I’m bleeding from my crotch and my cramps are fucking killing me!”
I know that some people would abuse this law, but I think much more good than bad would come about as a result of it.
Discussion for the ladies….
If laws such as this one were implemented where you live, what would your reaction be?
Women who, like me, suffer for years, even decades, as a result of menstruating, let alone those who have extreme pain due to endometriosis, would breathe a sigh of relief over such a law being passed.
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