Why Paid Menstrual Leave Is Good for Your Health, According to an Expert

glamour.com:

.The US and UK currently don't offer this benefit as standard, but we hope that more governments will take inspiration from Spain—as well as Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Zambia—in accommodating the impact of periods on our health.Studies have found that the workplaces ignoring the impact of periods on an employee affects productivity considerably, as well.

that people who menstruate tend to work through their period pain, and it makes them less productive. For example, a 2019 Dutch survey of 32,748 women found that this presenteeism during painful, exhausting, or heavy periods accounted for nine days of lost productivity per person, per year.

On top of productivity benefits, it turns out there are also true health benefits when you're given flexibility to not work, or work at home, while on your period.

Glamour UK asked —a yoga teacher, registered nutritionist, and author of the book *—*about the true health benefits of working from home when you're menstruating.“We have a greater need for rest during our periods, especially on the first one or two days, when our oestrogen levels—our feminizing, energizing hormone—are at their lowest,” Brothers explains. “Working from home allows you to go at your own pace, even waking up a bit later, without the stress of accounting for the timing of a commute.”The ability to work in your own environment can also help people who suffer from specific conditions that affect their reproductive systems, which could make their periods more painful or difficult to manage. “This flexibility helps those with endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, and painful or heavy periods who may feel anxious about going to work during their periods,” Brothers says.