alf of women aged between 50 and 64 in the UK work extra hours to catch up

he menopause can cause hot flushes, memory loss, joint aches and anxiety

A quarter of working women aged over 50 find their menopause symptoms so debilitating they are considering reducing their office hours.

Hot flushes, memory loss, joint aches and anxiety are some of the side-effects costing the UK economy 14 million working days every year, researchers found.

Half of women aged between 50 and 64 in the UK – more than 2 million in total – work extra hours to make up for time lost due to the symptoms.

Hot flushes, memory loss, joint aches and anxiety are some of the side-effects costing the UK economy 14 million working days every year, researchers found [File photo]

Some 370,000 of the women say they have either left, or considered leaving, their job because of the menopause.

A quarter of women say their relationship is affected – a driving force behind the divorce rate among over-50s increasing.

The research was commissioned by Health & Her, an online platform helping women manage the menopause.

Kate Bache, of Health & Her, said: ‘Just a fraction of women who experience difficulties during menopause will speak to their employer about their symptoms.

'This lack of discussion and transparency is having a serious impact on the economy and there is a huge risk that a pool of expertise, talent and skill could be needlessly lost.’