OBJECTIVES: Women compose almost half of the workforce in the developed economies; majority may experience variety of menopausal symptoms for up to a decade of their working life. This SLR aims to investigate the impact of menopausal symptoms in work context.

METHODS: MEDLINE^®, Embase^®, MEDLINE in-Process, EconLit^®, NHS EED were searched systematically to identify studies assessing productivity loss and menopausal symptoms. Searches were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches were supplemented by targeted searches; publications were screened by two independent reviewers.

RESULTS: Of 1,457 records identified, 53 studies were included, with work productivity reported in 21 studies (including 10 US and four UK studies). Among the US studies, significantly higher indirect per patient per year costs ($587 vs $261, including absenteeism costs: $510 vs $212) and work productivity losses (incidence rate: 3.1 vs 1.6, including absenteeism related work loss: 2.5 versus 1.1) were reported in women experiencing vasomotor menopausal symptoms (VMS) compared with women without these symptoms. Annual incremental work loss cost per woman were estimated of $770 USD. Similarly, in another study, women with diagnosed menopausal symptoms had significantly higher sick leave costs compared with the women without menopausal symptoms ($647 vs $599) as well as more sick leave days and lower hourly productivity. In a UK study, intention to leave the labour force was significantly higher in post-menopausal women compared with pre- or perimenopausal women.

CONCLUSIONS: Menopausal symptoms impose substantial burden on individual careers and society. Impact of menopausal symptoms in not uniform and likely underestimated given women work outside of paid employment. The holistic assessment of the impact incl. gender gap and equality considerations is needed to improve interventions for working menopausal women.