One in three women hides hormone-related problems at work due to a fear of not being taken seriously, according to a survey by statistics agency CBS and research bureau TNO.

Some 80% of women said they suffered from tiredness, headaches, abdominal pain, heavy periods and mood swings brought on by menstruation, pregnancy or menopause.

Over a third, or 35%, do not talk about this at work compared to 24% of both women and men suffering from other health complaints.

“They are often in a lot of pain, to the extent that they can’t do their job properly,” Judith Huirne, gynecologist at Amsterdam UMC, told broadcaster NOS.

One in 10 women who did not speak about their problems at work would like to do this and the same number would like some form of support from their superiors.

“This is something we see all the time,” Huirne said. “Very often these problems are dismissed as ‘women’s troubles’. That makes women wary of discussing them. They fear they won’t be taken seriously.”

Some 67% of women with hormone-related health problems continue to work, compared to 43% of employees with different health complaints.

“We do know that many women stay at home as well, often for a short time but every month. That has a huge effect on how they function and on their career chances,” she said.

CBS and TNO recommend that “employers would do well to create a healthy and open work culture in which there is awareness of the consequences of hormone-related health problems”.

More attention also needs to be paid to women who have frequent menstrual problems. “That is important because they have a whole career ahead of them,” the researchers pointed out.

Research needed

Huirne said that the Netherlands should look to Spain and Portugal which have included leave of absence in cases of menstrual pains in their legislation. “That promotes emancipation. We know that women spend more years suffering from bad health than men,” she said.

However, there are fears that underlying problems are still not being addressed. “We accept that women suffer at home. I want the problems to be solved by better diagnostics and better treatments. That takes more research,” Huirne said

A 2023 report focused on four common female-specific complaints, including problems related to hormonal imbalances, estimated the cost to society at between €2.5 and €7.8 billion. “But it’s much more,” said Huirne, who was involved in the research. “Our calculations did not include the costs of wrong referrals, for example,” she said.

The report prompted the then health minister Pia Dijkstra to pledge several million euros for a programme to research female-specific health problems. Human rights council College voor de Rechten van de Mens found on Thursday that insurers are discriminating illegally if they make companies with young, female workers pay higher sickness insurance premiums, reported NOS.