Wunderman Thompson Teams Up with Menopause Platform

Wunderman Thompson UK and midlife women’s support platform, The Latte Lounge, have announced a new partnership and support package to raise awareness and open conversation around menopause in the workplace.

In the UK, approximately 13 million women are currently going through the menopause. Studies show that around 70 per cent of women experience menopausal symptoms and, of those women, 50 per cent report decreased job satisfaction, while 42 per cent say it has led them to consider leaving their job.

The Latte Lounge is a multi-award-winning platform for midlife women, who exist because they believe that all women deserve to thrive in midlife. Their mission is to provide evidence-based, unbiased support information and signposting for all women’s perimenopause, menopause, health and wellbeing needs.

The partnership will sit alongside Wunderman Thompson’s evolved Life Policies, which aims to open up a safe space to talk about menopause. It’s important to recognise that the symptoms don’t only affect women going through the menopause, but can also have further-reaching effects on the teams they work with and, even if you aren’t working with someone affected, education around the menopause can help understanding of a friend or relative’s experience.

With a dedicated team of Menopause Champions already embedded within the agency, with Latte Lounge’s support, Wunderman Thompson will now run events and manager training within the workplace to educate, open up conversation and provide resources to women experiencing symptoms. The agency will also be expanding the support available through their award-winning mentoring platform, Magpie, to give people access to peer-to-peer support if they’re experiencing symptoms of the menopause.

Katie Taylor, Founder & CEO of The Latte Lounge, commented: “I’m so delighted to be partnering with Wunderman Thompson UK to help their team with menopause support in the workplace. I know from first-hand experience how debilitating some of the mental health and physical symptoms of menopause can be and the impact that can have on your ability to stay in your job. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see forward thinking companies like Wunderman Thompson recognise the value of implementing menopause education and support in the workplace, ensuring they retain valuable talent, helping them to, not just survive, but positively thrive at work”

Paula Joannou, Chief People Officer at Wunderman Thompson UK, added: “The menopause is a natural part of life, but for too many women it can prove a barrier at work. With the right support, women don’t need to struggle through. Tha Latte Lounge will help us build on our existing support package to create a culture of talking openly about the menopause at work, making sure that we’re helping those women experiencing symptoms, but also empowering their colleagues and managers to support them through as well.”

The partnership is part of Wunderman Thompson’s ‘Project 65’, a truly inclusive health offering that supports everyone at the agency to be their whole self, for the whole of their career at the agency. Project 65 is led by RISE, Wunderman Thompson’s women’s network, but will offer support to any employee across a number of mental and physical health pillars including fertility, the menopause and menstrual health. The project was inspired by a government survey which revealed that 65 per cent of women feel uncomfortable talking about health issues in the workplace, an issue that affects both women and men at all levels of seniority.