Hormonal health issues could be costing the U.S. economy almost $200 billion every year in lost productivity, new research shows.
The research, conducted by Mira—a fertility device and women’s health company—and based on a survey of 2,260 women between the ages of 18 and 70, found that almost a quarter of women in the U.S. have either quit or have considered quitting work due to hormonal health symptoms.
Across the country, about 71 million women are employed. Extrapolating from this number and based on the median annual earnings for a woman in the U.S., Mira concluded that health issues related to hormones could result in about $196 billion worth of lost productivity.
This latest study, which was conducted in late December 2024 and early January 2025, adds to a small but growing body of research which shows that failing to acknowledge and address certain traditionally-overlooked health challenges is having dire economic consequences.
The Mira survey considers an array of hormone-related health challenges—including those related to menstrual cycles and menopause, perimenopause and conditions related to conception and reproduction. A study published by the Mayo Clinic in 2023, found that menopause-related symptoms alone—such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, sleep disturbances, joint aches and cognitive difficulties—are costing the U.S. economy $26.6 billion a year, when including medical expenses.
“The takeaway for employers is that there is a critical need to address this issue for women in the workplace,” the lead author of the Mayo Clinic study, Stephanie Faubion, said at the time of its publication.
A report published last year in the U.K., meanwhile, found that inadequate support for conditions like menopause, endometriosis, and severe period pain costs the U.K. economy about £11 billion—or about $14 billion—annually due to absenteeism and reduced productivity.
‘A Fine Line’
In response to the latest Mira findings, the company’s CEO and co-founder, Sylvia Kang, urged companies to take certain steps to accommodate the needs of employees who are facing hormone-related health challenges in the workplace.
She noted that employers should implement flexible work arrangements. That could include allowing employees to work from home or take breaks to manage severe symptoms such as fatigue, pain, or hot flashes.
Kang also said that companies should promote regular, informal health check-ins and incorporate hormonal health education into leadership training. They should ensure, she added, that managers and leaders are educated on hormonal health conditions and their impact on productivity. This, she said, can help leaders offer more empathetic support to employees who may be struggling but are hesitant to speak up.
Sarah Fuhrmann, a certified menopause coaching specialist, agrees that training and accommodations are critical to ensuring that those suffering don’t have to bear an economic cost. But—she notes—this has to be done intentionally and sensitively.
“I think there’s a fine line to be walked here between setting up systems that make the workplace work better for women and creating an environment that plays into the characterization of women as being more fragile and less reliable than men,” says Fuhrmann.
“I would love to see workplaces create respite spaces where anyone – not just women – can take a break to recover from a hot flash, a dizzy spell, or a migraine, for example,” she adds.
“More education to help everyone understand and accept women’s health issues in the workplace? Yes, absolutely,” says Fuhrmann. “But doing it in a way that makes them feel targeted or even more inclined to hide it? Absolutely not.”