How would you handle this…
Rachel (she/her) got her period at work one day and leaked onto her office chair. She did her best to clean up and then approached her boss. She was dying inside and needed to go home for a clean outfit.
Instead of her boss being sympathetic, supportive and discreet, she was mad she had to replace the office chair. She was more worried about the chair than her own colleague. How embarrassing for everyone.
What would you do?
- Take her somewhere private and ask if she’s ok?
- Ask what you can get for her?
- Try to find a pad/tampon/wipes to offer her?
- Tell her to take all the time she needs?
- Tell her not to worry about work and take care of herself?
What about Mai who is sitting at her desk in agonising endometriosis pain unable to focus. She’s usually the type to soldier-on when she’s in pain but today is a real struggle and you can see it on her face. The cramping is usually made a little more bearable if only she’d remembered her heat pack…
There’s a million different ways to handle these situations and what happens next can really affect a person and how they feel about coming to work. It might seem like an inconvenience in your day, but trust us, it’s a major issue for the person affected!
At Jnine & Co we believe in promoting a period positive message of understanding and compassion. When your day gets busy and you’re focussed on your work, sometimes things happen. We’re working on changing the narrative around periods in the workplace and accepting that people who period have needs too.
Workplaces need to do better
That’s why we’ve developed the Workplace Period Toolkit. Not only does it provide period supplies for your workplace, it will also become a conversation starter about periods, open the lines of communication about that time of the month, and contribute to a period positive workplace. All employees should feel valued and supported at work and this is a major step in the right direction.
Get behind the period positive movement by subscribing to our Workplace Period Toolkit on a monthly basis. It has everything to make having your period at work a little less horrible. Make it known that your organisation cares for people who period and do something practical to help!
Don’t be like Rachel’s boss…be a bloody great boss.
