At Taylor Newberry Consulting, we’ve always believed that research should be a force for social good. But we also know that our impact in the community starts with how we treat each other. Over the last year, we have focused deeply on our commitment to staff well-being, looking for ways to ensure our internal culture is as healthy and supportive as the projects we lead.
Living our values means having honest conversations about things that have often been ignored in the office, like menstruation and menopause.
A personal reflection
For a long time, the “Normal” in most workplaces, and even in my own mind was silence. Women’s health was often treated as a private matter rather than a workplace reality. As someone who has struggled with hormonal migraine and endometriosis and currently navigating perimenopause, I know first hand how isolating it can feel. It is a difficult reality to navigate and an exhausting weight to carry. You are expected to be in the prime of your career, handling complex leadership tasks, while privately managing symptoms that disrupt your sleep, your energy, your focus, and your overall sense of well-being. This creates a constant internal pressure to perform at a high level while your body is signaling a need for rest or adjustment.
We see it in the collective pressure to push through meetings and pretend that brain fog or physical discomfort isn’t happening. It is a shared, often unspoken experience where brilliant leaders feel they must hide their biology to maintain their professionalism. We realized that if we are truly committed to quality relationships, we need to be able to acknowledge these human realities without shame. By staying silent, we can unintentionally prioritize a checklist over the person. By speaking up, we have the chance to create a workplace built for the people in it.
It affects all of us
We also recognize that these shared experiences don’t just affect the people experiencing them, they affect everyone. When a team member is navigating heavy cycles, chronic pain, or the sudden onset of menopause symptoms, it impacts their partners, their families, and their colleagues. By breaking the silence, we aren’t just supporting those who personally experience these transitions, we are supporting the people who care for them and work alongside them. We believe that if we are truly committed to quality relationships, we need to be able to acknowledge these human realities without shame.
Our year of learning
Our decision to deepen our support in this area grew out of our own internal research and these honest conversations. Over the past year, our team has attended workshops, joined webinars, and looked at the data to better understand how we can show up for one another.
According to the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), menstrual health is a significant barrier to full participation in daily life. Their research shows that up to 70 percent of people who menstruate have missed school or work because of their period, and many feel it has prevented them from engaging fully in social activities. This isn’t just a minor inconvenience, for many, it involves managing serious symptoms and conditions.
We also looked at the specific impact of the menopausal transition. We learned that unmanaged symptoms cost the Canadian economy an estimated $3.5 billion a year in lost productivity. Most concerningly, “1 in 10 women may leave the workforce” altogether because their symptoms aren’t being managed or supported at work.
More importantly, we realized we couldn’t call ourselves a relationship-based organization if we expected our team (and our clients) to suppress a normal biological transition. In June 2025, we decided to close that gap by approving a formal Menopause and Menstruation Policy.
A new standard for support
Our policy isn’t just a document on a shelf, it’s a commitment to flexibility. We’ve learned that small changes can make a huge difference in how people show up to work. This includes:
- Adjusting the workday: Having the freedom to change start and finish times and manage meeting schedules to deal with fatigue or pain.
- Focus time: Being intentional about scheduling demanding tasks and using cameras-off options when needed.
- Promoting breaks and movement: We encourage breaks especially during long periods of sitting such as meetings.
- Health and Wellness days: Providing the extra time people need when symptoms make it difficult to work.
We believe that taking care of our team allows us to do our best work. By fostering a culture where we feel supported, we can show up fully for the organizations and communities that depend on us. Breaking this stigma makes us a more resilient team and a better partner to the groups we serve.
We invite you to join us in this conversation. We are learning that a workplace is most effective when it is designed for the people within it. Our journey over the past year has proven that being straightforward about our health doesn’t just support our team, it strengthens our entire organization.
It all starts with acknowledging the real, lived experiences of the people on your team. We recognize that talking about health at work is a journey, and we are committed to learning alongside our team and our partners. Whether you are a team member navigating your own health journey, or a partner looking to implement similar supports in your own organization, here are some of the resources we have found most helpful:
- The Menopause Foundation of Canada: A wealth of resources for employers and employees, including the #MenopauseWorksHere playbook. Visit Website
- The Canadian Menopause Society: Clinical guidelines and evidence-based information for healthcare providers and the public. Visit Website
- Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA): Information on menstrual equity and the social determinants of health in Canada. Visit Website
- TNC Internal Support: Our team is always available for confidential conversations about what we have learned about workplace wellness, and how you might adapt those insights to your specific needs.
Let’s start a conversation