Hmm.

I'm one of those who spent decades praying for death one day out of every month.  But of course, if I didn't work, I didn't get paid.  So I loaded up on the pain pills and soldiered through.  If the option for paid time off had existed, I might have taken it.  
    Yes, I think a policy like this, if it existed in the majority of workplaces, would harm women. As folks have said, under this policy if you hire a guy, you don't have the same amount of absenteeism.  
     What is needed is medical research to solve the problem, not days off.

Mine interfered with my school. It would be so bad that I couldn't even leave the house. A simple 15 minute, outpatient surgery fixed that. Not that my solution isn't for all women, but if a woman is done having kids or doesn't want them, yet still wants to keep her girlie bits to avoid having to go on HRP later in life, then having an ablation along with a tubal ligation works wonders. You get to keep all your stuff and you don't have any more heavy periods. Many women don't get periods at all. Had mine last October. Haven't had a period since then and it feels great! I still get crabby two days out of the month, but I'm bitchy the rest of the days so it works out

Chocolate usually solves the crabbiness.

Thanks ladies. I was afraid this might end up being an all male thread.

I would only find it reasonable to take days off every month for menstruation in exceptional cases, such as a diagnosis of fibroids, endometriosis etc. Otherwise, I would think that the standard PTO awarded to all employees should be sufficient for anyone needing to miss a day for normal menstrual related pain/bleeding on occasion. People should be able to use their sick days as they deem fit: And when the sick days are gone, they're gone. Use them wisely.

Personally, I would rather save my allotted time off for unexpected events or emergencies, fun, and relaxation. I'll be uncomfortable whether I'm at home or not. I just bring adequate supplies, wear comfortable clothing, pop some pain medication, guzzle an extra energy drink, and push through it. It's not as if I don't see this coming every month.

(March 3, 2016 at 12:24 pm)Tiberius Wrote:

(March 3, 2016 at 9:52 am)mh.brewer Wrote: Company to give paid time off during menstrual periods. Does this help or hurt a woman's work image, or image in general?

If the company choose to do this, then it doesn't hurt women at all. If it's mandated by law, then it would certainly hurt a woman's work image, because companies would have even less incentive to hire women. From a purely financial perspective, if you had two equally qualified candidates: a man and a woman, why would you hire the woman when you would be forced to give her paid time off for a few days (or more) every month? It sounds harsh but that's the way business works.

Also, I see the potential for fraud. A woman could be on contraception which prevents periods, but a company wouldn't know that, nor be able to (it would violate doctor / patient confidentiality), so the woman could potentially get paid time off when it's not even necessary.

According to the article the work force is mostly female already.  It just got me thinking about what if the time of the periods are synchronized, that means potentially the employers have agreed to give paid time off to the majority of their workers all at the same time once a month.

My initial reaction to this though is that I'm not against it, the company have chosen to do this, it just seems like it could be potentially bad for the company.

It is so variable with women. I have rarely been bothered by mine, but I know women who are totally nonfunctional. To make a law would be wrong, IMO.

The synchronized period thing: There are some journal articles that debunk this, and some that confirm it. Anecdotally, I think it's a myth.

Quote: What is needed is medical research to solve the problem, not days off.

Dear Fuzzy.  While I think you have a point do remember that you have an entire political party which insists that this...

Quote:Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Gen 3:16

be followed to the letter.

What I can't figure out is why you girls even bother which such a fuck face of a god?

The Straight Dope reports a weaker version of synchronicity. In college dorms, for instance; close friends and roomies synchronize, but not whole floors of women. I'd extrapolate 'cliques' of women at work might sync up, but probably not an entire department like I worked in (over 40 females).

It looks like women around men more have shorter periods too.


I would hope I do not have that effect on women, it seems grossly unfair . . .

(March 3, 2016 at 6:41 pm)Thena323 Wrote: I'll be uncomfortable whether I'm at home or not. I just bring adequate supplies, wear comfortable clothing, pop some pain medication, guzzle an extra energy drink, and push through it. It's not as if I don't see this coming every month.

Normally I'd agree with this, but when you're passing two or more blood clots the size of golf balls every hour, leaving the house isn't an option.

(March 4, 2016 at 12:21 am)Nymphadora Wrote:

(March 3, 2016 at 6:41 pm)Thena323 Wrote: I'll be uncomfortable whether I'm at home or not. I just bring adequate supplies, wear comfortable clothing, pop some pain medication, guzzle an extra energy drink, and push through it. It's not as if I don't see this coming every month.

Normally I'd agree with this, but when you're passing two or more blood clots the size of golf balls every hour, leaving the house isn't an option.

That's specifically why I made a distinction between normal menstrual bleeding and exceptional conditions in my post, and stated that they should be handled differently. I guess you must have forgotten to quote that part of my response or simply overlooked it.

What I'm describing in the quote above, is how I personally handle my painful, yet essentially normal menstrual period.

It's clear to me that passing several golf-ball sized clots every hour on the hour would be not be considered normal menstrual bleeding and indicative of an underlying illness or condition of some sort.