British Company Offers Paid Leave During Menstrual Cycles to 'Increase Productivity' An event planning firm is making it possible for its female employees to stay home if they need to during their periods.
By Nina Zipkin
Coexist, an event firm in Bristol, England, has instituted a plan to provide its predominantly female staff with a "period policy" that will allow them to take time off and work flexibly when they are, in the parlance of Clueless heroine Cher Horowitz, surfing the crimson wave.
Bex Baxter, a director at the company, told the Bristol Post that she believes the initiative will positively affect the company's efficiency. "There is a misconception that taking time off makes a business unproductive," she said. "Actually it is about synchronizing work with the natural cycles of the body." Baxter also noted that the policy isn't mandatory.
Related: Weave Health and Wellness Into Your Company's Culture
For many women, taking an Advil and getting on with it is their mode of dealing with cramps and headaches while at work. Though for one in 10 women, the pain associated with their period can be debilitating, at least for a few days.
Coexist isn't alone in offering a period policy. Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines include paid menstrual leave as part of those nations' labor laws, and some provinces in China also have a similar policy on the books.
