The Invisible Reality of Women’s Health at Work

The Invisible Reality of Women’s Health at Work

Written by: Grace Hansen

Working in healthcare has changed how I think about work and the people who show up to do it. In my roles over the last four years as a patient attendant, GI technician, CNA, and now a nutrition technician, I’ve spent many hours working closely with patients in moments that are often uncomfortable, unpredictable, and yet extremely human. You learn quickly in these environments that health doesn’t always wait until you have “free time.” It doesn’t pause for a shift, a meeting, or a deadline. And for many women, it’s something they’re constantly managing in ways that other people might not even notice.

That’s the part that stuck with me. Because what I see in clinical settings doesn’t match how most workplaces are designed.

Every day, I work wtih women dealing with conditions like PCOS, recurring UTIs, hormonal imbalances, and symptoms that come with perimenopause and menopause. These aren’t rare cases. They’re very common. And more importantly, they’re ongoing. Some days are manageable and others are not, and there’s often no clear pattern to follow.

Working in healthcare, we are trained to recognize this. We listen to the symptoms and adjust our care. We document patterns over time. But outside of this setting, especially in the workplace, those same realities are often invisible. There is always the expectation to show up to work and do your job at your very best, even when your health is below par.

That disconnect is hard to ignore once you’ve seen it up close and it matters more than people realize. Let’s look at the numbers.

• Around 33% of women experience menopause symptoms, and many report that it negatively affects their work, including concentration, stress levels, and lowered confidence.
• Research has also shown that menopause contributes to real workplace outcomes – around 13% of women experience adverse related work outcomes due to menopause symptoms, and 11% of women are missing work due to this, which has contributed to $1.8 billion in lost work time per year.
• According to the Medical University of South Carolina, approximately 50% of women will have a UTI at some point in their lives.
• Conditions like PCOS also affect a significant portion of women during their working years.

You can see the magnitude of it. These issues are not unique – they are a widespread reality in the workforce. What stands out is how rarely this is talked about in professional settings because an environment where employees feel comfortable to talk about them has not been created. And when people don’t feel like they can speak openly, they push through.

In my personal day-to-day work, I’ve cared for patients who are trying to manage chronic or recurring conditions while still holding onto their work routines. Many of them are used to minimizing what they’re feeling and they show up, adapt, and keep going. Over time, you can see the toll that takes on the body and mind. Symptoms are hardly ever predictable. Someone might feel find one day and completely drained the next. Pain can come and go without notice. Fatigue can build gradually or hit all at once. That kind of variability makes it hard to plan for, and even harder to meet expectations during uncompromising times.

Another layer that’s seen time and time again is – frustration.

This doens’t occur just from the symptoms themselves, but from the experience of not feeling fully understood. Many of the health challenges women face aren’t always easy to measure. They don’t always show up as an abnormal lab value, a clear diagnosis, or something obvious on a scan. And when there isn’t concrete proof to form a specific diagnosis, it can lead to thier concerns being minimized or dismissed. I’ve seen patients struggle to explain what they are feeling, especially when the answer isn’t straightforward. I’ve seen hesitation to even go see a doctor or talk to a manager after not being taken seriously the first time. That carries over into other areas of life, including work, where it can feel even harder to speak up without physical proof stating “I have X, Y, and Z going on and here is the diagnosis to prove it.”

There’s also a quieter, heavier reality that doesn’t get talked about enough – what women carry emotionally.

Women are navigating things like miscarriage, fertility struggles, or the uncertainty of trying to conceive. These are deeply personal experiences, and many women don’t share them openly – sometimes not even with the people closest to them. That means they may be showing up to work every day while holding in grief, disappointment, stress, or even guilt that no one else can see. And for women who have children, there’s another layer of pressure. There’s an expectation to always be strong and keep everything running, being fully present both at work and at home. When you’re responsible for the care of others, it can feel like there’s no room to slow down or achnowledge how you’re feeling. So instead, many just push it aside.

They show up and keep going. They put on a brave face. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting them.

Another pattern I’ve noticed is how often people delay care. Whether it’s due to work schedules, a lack of flexibility, or a fear of falling behind,  many wait longer than they should to address symptoms. And even when they do receive care, there’s often a gap between what’s recommended and what they can actually find the time for in their daily lives. It’s one thing to say “get more rest” or “reduce stress” but it’s another to figure out how to do that while keeping up with work responsibilities that don’t adjust.

This is where the workplace has an opportunity to do better.

One of the biggest ideas that healthcare gets right starts with listening. Before a treatment plan is ever put in place, there’s an effort to listen to and understand what the person is experiencing. And when people feel heard, they are more likely to speak up earlier, rather than waiting until something becomes unmanageable. Healthcare also doesn’t play the game of “one size fits all.” Two patients with the same condition can have completely different personal experiences. Treatment and care plans can be formed and adjusted as needed, based on patterns rather than one moment of conversation. There’s an understanding that not every condition will present in a clear or textbook way. Sometimes it takes time, observation, and trust to fully understand what someone is going through. That mindset – being open to things not being straightforward rather than defaulting to dismissal – is something every workplace could benefit from.

Workplaces don’t need to become healthcare systems, but they can adopt some of the same principles.

• Recognize that people are ever-changing
• Understanding that performance isn’t linear
• Knowing that support shouldn’t rely on one moment
• Valuing that an employee’s health is not separate from work

Supporting women at work comes down to a series of small and intentional choices.

• Managers that know how to respond when someone brings up a health concern by listening and asking thoughtful questions
• Workplace flexibility that doesn’t require an employee to justify their needs repeatedly
• Normalizing the idea that today may look different than tomorrow
• Creating space for ongoing conversations where employees can express when their needs change

People are almost always carrying more than what you can see. For many women, that includes managing health conditions, emotional experiences, and stacked responsibilities that don’t turn off at the end of the workday. These women adapt and push through and find new ways to keep going. But they shouldn’t have to do it alone – or without support.

When workplaces understand that reality, the better they can respond to it. And in my experience, that kind of support doesn’t just help individuals – it makes whole teams stronger and creates a workplace that employees will thrive in.