A little vacation to deal with your lady problems? Hmm …
For men, periods are terrifying, confusing and we're really just damn glad our downstairs parts generally stay the same month to month. If we, say, bled out of our penises a few days every month, we'd be justifiably grumpy too. So it's easy to see why all the ladies in our lives might be a little stressed when "Aunt Flow" comes to visit.
A community interest firm in England, Coexist, has introduced a “period policy” in an effort to give women more flexibility and “create a happier and healthier working environment.”
Bex Baxter, a director at Coexist, said this in an interview with The Independent:
"As a manager of staff I have seen women really suffer with their periods and I have found them doubled over in a lot of pain. They feel guilty and ashamed for taking time off and often sit at their desks in silence not wanting to acknowledge it. It started from there and we thought we had to see what we could do about it and try and break the last great taboo. Nothing like this has been done in the UK before, we believe, and if it has, it has been very small."
And while it might sound a little crazy, apparently they're not alone. Nike introduced menstrual leave in 2007 and makes business partners sign a memorandum of understanding to ensure they maintain the company’s standards.
Baxter over at Coexist believes the plan will increase productivity and hopes other firms introduce similar policies.
But since almost 50% of us don't have a uterus, could it really be that painful? Apparently, studies suggest 90% of women experience period pain. Around 20% describe their pain as moderate, while 2% say it is severe. Another study claims 14% of women are frequently unable to work because of the pain.
Yikes. If our balls hurt bad enough to not work, we'd want testicular leave too.
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