Let's Talk About - Menstrual Leave: a Necessity?

Menstrual Leave -

- A type of leave where a person may have the option to take paid or unpaid leave from their employment if they are menstruating and are unable to go to work because of this (King, 2021). 

This has been something that has been on my mind recently, even as I spoke to friends and colleagues about this. 

From personal experience, I have seen friends who suffer from excruciating pain during their menstruation and are then unable to even get up from bed due to the bad cramps at various parts of their body. I personally have experience severe lethargy especially during the first or first 2 days of menstruation, and have taken medical leave just to be able to rest at home for that day. 

The question is: it being a biological situation, shouldn't women be allowed to rest at home / take leave for that purpose as a right? Considering that men doesn't need to experience or deal with such biological symptoms at all. 

The argument for

So when I was discussing and debating the pros and cons about the implementation and the practicality of such an implementation in a corporate setting, it got me thinking. So I went to do some research. 

Here is a brief recap of the countries who have done something about this (credits to https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/money/2023/02/17/the-global-push-for-paid-menstrual-leave/ for an amazing summary):

• Spain: law grants indefinite paid leave for period pain, MC needed. 

• Indonesia: law grants 2 days paid leave per month, no MC needed. In practice, some allow one day per month or none, either due to obliviousness or intentional disregard. 

• Japan: law grants unlimited leave if requested, no MC needed. However, the law doesn't require the companies to pay them during such leave, but 30% offers full or partial pay. In practice, it shows that not many women took the leave.

• South Korea: law grants 1 day of unpaid menstrual leave per month. Penalty of $5 million won if employers refuses to grant this. In practice, slightly better uptake of leave.

• Taiwan: law grants 3 days of leave per year (only 1 day can be taken per month). Women receive 50% salary on such leave days. 

• Zambia: law grants 1 day of leave, no notice or MC needed. In practice, not all employers willingly comply with this law. 

Some other companies have taken the liberty to grant menstrual leave as a matter of company benefit; such as Future Super (an Australian pension fund), Zomato (an Indian food delivery startup), and Louis (a French furniture company), each provide an additional six, ten, or twelve days of menstrual leave. 

I think with the right work ethic, this menstrual leave would be used well by female employees, if only if they need a break from having to perform at their best when they are not feeling 100% biologically. Perhaps they just need half a day of rest and would be able to work for the second half of the day. Perhaps they are given the liberty of working from home / teleworking for a day or two during their menstruation, so that they are not needed to travel to work and be stuck commuting for a prolonged period of time. 

I would think that employers could have the concern of implementing such a benefit of giving 'an additional 12 days of leave' to female employees and risk losing productivity over those days. However, I think that in the short-term, it would seem like you would be losing productivity over those days (if the leaves are even taken by the employees!). 

That said, it could also depend on the type of work and the type of industry that such companies are placed in. If the work given could still be done remotely, then giving the employee the time to rest could actually improve productivity either (1) when the employee has had time to rest and is able to work remotely for the 2nd half of the day or (2) when the employee returns to work physically, knowing that she has had time to rest and able to now perform at her best. I would also think that a company that has such a benefit would demonstrate that they care for their employee's well-being and appreciate their employees at a human level, rather than just viewing them as a workhorse or a gear in a factory, that churns out work that generates income for the company. Thus, employees would genuinely want to do their best for a company that they know cares for them, and perhaps be able to make decisions in the future in the interests of the company. I would also think that people looking for jobs would also be attracted to work in a company that stands out from the rest in terms of its benefits or policies, and that would naturally help that company stand out from its competitors as well. 

Perhaps with discussion on the practical implementation of such a leave with the employees in their respective companies and industries, that a company would be able to mutually agree on a system of 'menstrual leave' that would be effective and beneficial for both the employees and the employer.

The argument against

Playing the devil's advocate, I would say that there would be people not for this. Firstly, an argument would be that would granting menstrual leave be liberating women, on a scale of female empowerment and equality? My personal opinion is that having a benefit given to you due to a biological difference is making the playing field equal. Women shouldn't be handicapped in expectations of performance due to a biological difference.

Secondly, there are concerns that taken together with maternity leave, could prompt employers to hire men instead of women. It could definitely be the case. However, I would think that if employers have preconceived notions of how women work or the outcome of their work due to their biological nature, then I would think that idea would not change regardless of the addition of menstrual leave or not. 

Concluding Thoughts

As a nation: I think that Malaysia is still far away from implementing this as a legal right for women employees - despite the fact that we have just taken a large step forward with the abolishment of the crime of suicide attempts. Yet, even as a country we are still making some progress, albeit slow. 

As employees: I believe that we would be more inclined to look and work for companies who understand this situation and make some attempt towards caring for their employees. I personally am always amazed (still) when I hear of the various efforts that companies make towards making the workplace one that is warm and caring towards their employees. 

For employers: I believe that companies who want to retain their employees in the near future should take this step forward in this direction. This would also boost a company's image and reputation in their competitors' eyes and also stand out in the industry. 

We can only hope that this would then create some-sort of a 'peer-pressure' amongst like-minded companies, which would then take a step towards the improvement of the well-being of employers in general.

Till then - this has been me, sharing my thoughts on this matter. What are your thoughts on this?

References

Free Malaysia Today (2023) 

        https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/money/2023/02/17/the-global-push-for-paid-menstrual-leave/ 

King S. (2021) Menstrual Leave: Good Intention, Poor Solution. In: Hassard J., Torres L.D.         (eds) Aligning Perspectives in Gender Mainstreaming. Aligning Perspectives on Health,           Safety and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-53269-7_9