Fertility health is something every couple possesses. When you can achieve your parenthood goals, you get a sense of reason and direction and feel that you can stand firm despite whatever life and work pressure throws at you. But just as your fertility health fluctuates, so too, your mental health goes through particular emotional turmoil.
Raising awareness of fertility treatment in the workplace policy fosters a comprehensive workplace. Employees feel free to bring their whole selves to work and offer maximum productivity to the organization. It is indeed an overwhelming and challenging task for anyone at the workplace to plan or undergo fertility treatment to fulfill their parenthood goals.
Like other medical conditions, infertility takes an employee’s emotional, physical, mental, and financial peace. From a humanitarian and productivity perspective, an entrepreneur or employer is duty-bound to provide the best possible support.
As per a research study, infertility affects more than 15% of couples in the United States on a broader scale.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6386796/). It has the potential to take an emotional as well as a professional toll on both male and female partners experiencing infertility.
IVF treatment cycle: What global numbers say?
During the IVF treatment procedure, a couple or a woman experience moments of highs and lows and other physical and reproductive health changes. To keep the employees happy and productive within your company, it’s imperative for you, as an employer, to exhibit how much your care and that your moral and emotional support is there!
The alarming numbers of IVF treatment cycles reveal that the UK fertility centers account for nearly 70,000 IVF cycles. There is a significant absence of workplace policy for IVF at various offices.
Couples or individuals who experience infertility a notable amount of stress and anxiety, coupled with the physiological strain that often comes with IVF and work, have a hard time both at the workplace and in routine life. It can leave a significant impact on efficiency, energy, and mental health.
Employees spend around 60-70% of their life’s time in the workplace. Thus, top entrepreneurs or employers now realize that they should make infertility treatment part of their benefits plan and policies like any other medical condition.
This blog will dive deep into some main ways that employers can use to support their employees on their path to parenthood.
Start speaking about IVF treatment and fertility.
We are advancing both in terms of technology and mindsets. It’s high time we should stop considering infertility as a curse or infertility as a woman’s problem only. Infertility can affect both men and women, depending on various physiological and environmental factors. In any professional environment, it is important to vocalize your thoughts or concerns related to infertility. Employers should encourage their employees to speak about their fertility-related problems. It should be a part of an organization’s workplace policy for IVF.
Raising fertility health awareness at work.
Fertility health awareness at work comprises fundamental knowledge for every woman and is a critical tool for health professionals. Fertility awareness is useful and essential in the assessment of a woman’s health at the workplace. Employers should organize timely discussions with the employees about some techniques to detect ovulation and learn about a regular menstrual cycle. From a reproductive health viewpoint, one can consider female puberty as the procedure leading to the hormonal changes that will allow mature oocytes to leave the ovary, allowing fertilization.
Change your work pattern and provide flexible working.
IVF treatment cycle involves frequent doctor visits, and thus, employees undergoing fertility treatment require flexible working hours at the workplace to complete their tasks productively. While the employees are on their IVF treatment procedures, the employers should make sure that they allow the employees to adjust their working shifts as and when they have their appointments scheduled at a fertility center.
Full-fledged discussions about fertility treatment in the workplace policy
An employer or an entrepreneur needs to emphasize the need for fertility treatment among their employees at the workplace. There’s no shame in discussing fertility treatment at the workplace. According to some of the employees who were offered workplace policy for IVF, they were happy with their employees’ support and leverage while they were undergoing IVF treatment to achieve their parenthood goals. It helped them in reducing their stress levels and improving their productivity at work.
Encourage a happy and communicative working environment.
Encouraging and promoting a happy and interactive working environment at the workplace will help employees achieve their tasks and parenthood goals effectively. An employer is duty-bound to emphasize their employees’ physical as well as mental health. They should make sure that every employee in their organization to feel comfortable and happy. The employees’ fertility health should always be a part of workplace policy for IVF in your workplace. Employers must make sure that they execute some strategies mentioned to keep their employees happy and healthy!
Also Read: Essential Signs Of A Good Fertility Health & Ability To Conceive
Words of Wisdom
Affirmative connections and relationships among employees and employers play a significant role in maintaining a healthy workplace environment. Fertility is a condition that employers should include in the workplace policy for IVF. Realizing and promoting reproductive and fertility health is an integral part of developing a safe and healthy workplace. Importantly, employers and workers both share equal accountability in constructing a productive and safe work environment. It will help in:
- Enhanced work performance and efficiency.
- A flexible working environment helps in reducing absenteeism and sick leave.
- Reduced occurrence of attending work while undergoing IVF treatment
- Decreased incidence and cost of employees’ compensation.
- Enhanced staff morale, fulfillment, and motivation.
