A California doctor is urging businesses to give female employees three days off work each month in order for them to deal with their menstrual cycle.
Dr. Mindy Pelz, the author of “The Menopause Reset,” made the remarks on Steven Bartlett’s podcast “The Diary of a CEO,” saying male workers should also be able to take the same number of days off for the sake of fairness.
“What if every employee had three days off every single month, no questions asked?” Pelz proposed. “You take it when you want to take it.”
“Let your employee use their prerogative because you can’t tell them when to use it with their period. I think that’s the most fair because then the men can do it, too.”
Pelz said most women would — and should — take the allotted days of the week when they are experiencing symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
The doc said it is “destroying” a woman’s “hormonal system” to be at work while suffering through PMS symptoms, such as headaches and irritability, that are experienced by many women.
“I’m not talking about the moment you wake up and you’re like, ‘Yeah it’s going to be a boring day,’ or ‘There’s some ‘difficult conversations I have to have today,’” she explained. “I’m talking about the moment when your energy’s down you have brain fog, you might be having some cramps, you might be really irritable and you’re like: ‘I can’t take one more thing.’”
Pelz stated that day was likely the 25th day of a woman’s menstrual cycle.
She described it as “the day where everything is crashing down on you and your stress is coming from all different angles.”
“If it is appropriate to stay home then stay home and nurture yourself,” she implored.
Pelz isn’t the first medical expert to propose such leave, which has already been implemented in other countries.
Last year, Spain became the first European country to entitle workers to paid menstrual leave, giving women three to five days off per month.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, female workers are not obliged to work on the first two days of their menstrual cycle if they are experiencing any pain.
