Mbongo Emilia Ndapandula, Miranda Helena, Haikera Hertha
Department of Applied Educational Sciences.
School of Nursing, Department of Midwifery Sciences, Rundu Campus, University of Namibia, Kavango East Region, Namibia.
J Public Health Afr. 2023 May 31;14(8):2587. doi: 10.4081/jphia.2023.2587. eCollection 2023 Aug 7.
Menstruation's effects on workplace productivity and its impact on women's careers are rarely discussed in public discourse. This paper presents an analysis of thirteen women's accounts of their menstrual experiences at work.
The study aimed to understand women's lived experiences of menstruation in the workplace in Namibia and to make recommendations for best practices and policy formulation to help female employees cope with menstruation at work in Namibia.
The study adopted a qualitative, phenomenological narrative inquiry research design, and thirteen participants working in various institutions and companies in Namibia were selected through a snowball sampling procedure. Individuals who agreed to participate in the study were given a link to a Google document containing reflective questions.
Thematic analysis was used to analyze the narratives. The study findings show that most participants experienced various menstrual-related symptoms ranging from unbearable physical pain or discomfort to heavy bleeding and psychological distress. Menstruating women face workplace challenges, such as a lack of emergency sanitary products and unsupportive superiors.
Based on the narratives analyzed, we conclude that menstrual-related symptoms affect work productivity. Participants highlighted that they perform better and are considerably more productive on their non-menstrual days. Participants advocated for a shift in policy to allow flexibility to work from home or get menstrual leave when experiencing severe menstrual symptoms. Such a change will go a long way in making the workplace more accommodating to women.
月经对工作场所生产力的影响及其对女性职业生涯的影响在公共话语中很少被讨论。本文对13名女性关于她们在工作中的月经经历的叙述进行了分析。
该研究旨在了解纳米比亚女性在工作场所的月经生活经历，并为最佳实践和政策制定提出建议，以帮助纳米比亚的女性员工应对工作中的月经问题。
该研究采用了定性的、现象学叙事探究研究设计，通过滚雪球抽样程序从纳米比亚各机构和公司工作的13名参与者中进行了选择。同意参与研究的个人被提供了一个包含反思问题的谷歌文档链接。
采用主题分析法对这些叙述进行分析。研究结果表明，大多数参与者经历了各种与月经相关的症状，从难以忍受的身体疼痛或不适到大量出血和心理困扰。月经期间的女性面临工作场所的挑战，如缺乏应急卫生用品和不支持她们的上级。
基于所分析的叙述，我们得出结论，与月经相关的症状会影响工作生产力。参与者强调，她们在非经期表现更好，生产力也更高。参与者主张政策转变，允许在经历严重月经症状时灵活选择在家工作或休月经假。这样的改变将大大有助于使工作场所更能接纳女性。
