Abstract:

Despite increasing awareness of how menopause influences work, many women have little understanding of the complexities of menopause. This paper investigates how women make sense of menopause at work using mixed-methods survey data (n=685) and semi-structured interviews (n=53). We report three key findings. We demonstrate how sensemaking as identity work was conducted through a perceived change of identity, ensuing discovery, and reclaiming one’s sense of self. Quantitative analysis found that resilience was a moderator of psychological symptoms and emotional quality of life, informed by interview data showing how resilience was interrupted by psychological symptoms, and regained/realigned through sensemaking. Emotional identity work normalised and depersonalised menopause, seeking a shared awareness and in response to internalised and emotionally charged reactions to (perceptions of) compromised work performance. We contribute to the identity literature offering evidence to the mutually enactive nature of identity and sensemaking, and to the burgeoning literature on menopause and work.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Identity

Keywords: Identity work,Occupational / work / professional identity,Identity construction,Mixed methods

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Dr. Belinda Steffan