- Paid menstrual leave is much more common in Asia than in the US or Europe.
- Some argue that menstrual leave creates a pretense of discrimination against women.
- One employee told Insider that menstrual leave at her company in Poland made her life easier last year.
Paulina Rutkowska, 31, remembers when her period ended up having a rough day at work.
For example, when she was working as a photographer in college, she had less flexibility in her workplace and had to work through her symptoms.
“Sometimes I was barely aware of it,” she told Insider of the job, which needed to get back on its feet.
Nearly ten years later, Rutkowska has changed a lot. She works as the product her owner of her GOG.com, a digital platform for video games and movies based in Warsaw, Poland, where Rutkowska lives. She is the company leader in her engineering role and manages the team that oversees developer tools.
Another change is that she works mostly from home. Like many of her remote workers, she often attends meetings and works when she is ill. For example, when Rutkowska is on her period and in pain, she is more likely to complete her tasks at home than at the office. She said she often has meetings that she doesn’t want to reschedule.
But this past year, things have changed.
GOG announced in April last year that it would grant its employees a period of time off, a rare type of leave being debated around the world. GOG culture and communications Her manager, Gabriela Siemienkowicz, said in a statement to Insider last year that employees could take a day off every quarter, but the company now says it is expanding that number in the future.
Menstrual leave policies have been in place in Asia and Europe for the past 100 years.Some say it is a welcome remedy for those experiencing pain, while others argue that women are subject to discrimination in the workplace. became First country in Europe to introduce menstrual leave.
the Italian parliament suggestion In 2016, we began offering employees paid menstrual leave up to 3 days a month. The decision brought relief to those concerned about the growth of Italian companies. reluctant hiring women.
But Rutkowska’s experience has been satisfying. GOG told Insider that the company’s response has been “overwhelmingly positive” and that menstruating employees are using the policy sparingly, breaking taboos about menstruation in the workplace. Ms. said she has only taken one day of menstrual leave in the year since the policy came into effect, but knowing that it is available when needed has eased her work load while she is menstruating. I was.
“I don’t know if it’s the placebo effect of being able to take time off when needed or the placebo effect of being able to finish the day earlier, but it made it easier,” she said.
It’s common across GOG. According to the company, only 16% of all holidays available to menstruating employees were used during the year.
“Menstrual leave fosters inclusivity by embracing that there are biological differences in the workplace,” the company said in a statement. , acknowledges that these symptoms are real.”
It also acknowledges that menstrual cramps can be debilitating in some people.1 Professor of Reproductive Health Said Quartz in 2018 described patients with cramp pain as “almost as bad as having a heart attack.”
“That might be something you should talk about.”
When Rutkowska did take the leave, she said she had “sleepless nights” and was in pain for hours before starting work. Either way, she ended up logging in for work later, but decided not to do it because she didn’t have to go through the “hassle” of making sick calls or running out of PTO the traditional way. About , she said she felt much better.
Rutkowska also praised the relative ease and discretion of requesting menstrual leave, especially compared to other forms of leave. She said it will be approved soon. In contrast, formal sick leave requires a doctor’s note, adding many steps to the leave-taking process.
“With menstrual leave, you don’t have to go through all the hoops,” she said. Only, I’m taking a break.”
Rutkowska says the process doesn’t feel in the spotlight because there’s no bureaucracy involved.
“When it comes to a very standardized process, it doesn’t feel tedious anymore,” she added.
And she said the conversation about menstrual leave on GOG has opened the door for greater openness, regardless of gender, about health concerns routinely raised at the company.
For example, through GOG, employees can be screened for breast and testicular cancer.
“It’s not something to talk about with your friends at work,” she said. “Hi, I’m having a breast exam.” “