The F Word at Work – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to the final episode in this series of The F Word at Work, where we discuss mental health at work, and its prevalence regarding the topic of fertility in the workplace. We're delighted to be in conversation with Simon Blake, CEO of MHFA England® and a leading voice in mental health advocacy.

With a passion for driving social change, Simon champions diversity and community support. As Chair of the Dying Matters Campaign, he continues his commitment to promoting holistic wellbeing.

Here's a glimpse into our conversation:

• Over 300,000 mental health first aiders are now active in the UK, with one in 40 adults receiving training. We delve into the impact of this training and how it has evolved over the years.
• Mental health takes centre stage alongside physical health concerns, emphasizing its crucial role in creating a healthy work environment.
• We explore the importance of using inclusive language and fostering supportive behaviours when discussing both fertility issues and mental health.
• The importance of listening and offering support, rather than trying to "fix" someone's situation.
• Learn about the valuable resources available for Mental Health Awareness Week and how these can support the fertility conversations in the workplace.
• We learn about Mental Health First Aid England's mission to provide training and consultancy on mental health awareness and support.
• Understand what mental health first aid is and its role in the workplace, including recognizing signs and symptoms of mental health issues, providing initial support, and signposting individuals to appropriate resources.
• The importance of creating a workplace culture where employees feel safe, supported, and have a sense of belonging, especially in the wake of the pandemic's impact on mental well-being.
• We explore the "My Whole Self" campaign, which emphasizes the need for dismantling the stigma surrounding fertility challenges and their connection to mental health.
• The importance of well-being check-ins and the need for managers to be trained in supporting employee well-being. It also recognizes the fear of missteps in difficult conversations and emphasizes building trust with employees.
• How mental health first aiders can empower managers and employees to address mental health and well-being concerns, including those related to fertility challenges.
• The importance of psychological safety in the workplace is highlighted and how mental health first aid training empowers individuals to support their colleagues, fostering a positive work environment.
• We conclude by reflecting on the rewarding aspects of MHFA England's work. This includes the widespread impact of training, the stories of individuals using their skills to help others, and the dedication of mental health first aiders in creating positive workplace cultures.

Thank you to Apricity who are sponsoring this series of The F Word at Work. To find out about more about  how they can support your employees with inclusive fertility care please get in touch with its expert corporate team here.  We'd love your support and feedback so please do hit follow and if possible leave a review in the app you are listening to.

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Welcome to another episode of The F Word at Work, where we delve into the vital conversations surrounding fertility in the workplace. Today, we're honored to host Gemma Young, Senior Managing Director at Nuveen, a driving force in shaping marketing strategies across EMEA and Asia Pacific.

Gemma Young, is an esteemed marketing leader, takes center stage, steering Nuveen's marketing endeavors while chairing the business resource group "achieve," dedicated to females and female allies.

What we discussed:

• Gemma's personal journey fuels her dedication to address fertility challenges in the workplace, propelling Nuveen to pioneer impactful initiatives.
• Nuveen's proactive stance in fostering fertility conversations through a robust event program.
• Insightful panel discussions and networking sessions covering diverse topics from IVF to LGBTQ family building.
• Addressing crucial health issues like PCOS and endometriosis to foster a supportive environment.
• Witness the ripple effects: heightened awareness, enhanced employee support, and policy shifts like the introduction of fertility leave.
• Gemma's brilliant work internally won an award via the business resource group.
• Gems of wisdom for initiating similar dialogues: leverage existing affinity groups, engage HR, and rally supportive leadership.
• Proactive measures are key; continuous dialogue and awareness pave the way for meaningful change.

Thank you to Apricity who are sponsoring this series of The F Word at Work. To find out about more about  how they can support your employees with inclusive fertility care please get in touch with its expert corporate team here.  We'd love your support and feedback so please do hit follow and if possible leave a review in the app you are listening to.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The F Word at Work coming to you for National Fertility Awareness Week 2023.

We're really excited to be able to share something that has been shaped by our hard work within the workplace wellbeing space over the last two years as we've really gained a lot of knowledge from the many conversations we've had with organisations looking to implement support and the range of policies we've now seen, so to mark the week we've launching a brilliant new download for you to use to shape your workplace policy and our three co-founders Becky, Natalie and Claire have a chat about it. We also caught up with Fran Steyn, VP of Clinical at Peppy healthcare about new research they are sharing for the week about the impact fertility issues have on people's working life.

What was discussed:

• What you can expect from our policy guidance document - Claire talks about how she approached it from the patient as well as an HR Professional
• Our aim was to give people a boost in their understanding 
• How this should help HR have an honest conversation with employees - to ask them what they need
• We hope organisations can use it to put their own stamp on it
• Stats included to ensure people understand the scale of this conversation 
• Key for managers, HR or the person going through it - that if the policy isn’t relevant, isn’t inclusive, doesn’t validate what you are going through how that will impact your first reaction as to whether you feel your organisation will support you to encourage disclosure
• Lived experience can help the document in terms of tone and really helps it come to life - when this hasn’t been the case we’ve had to give feedback on the lack of warmth and empathy and the policy can be too formal
• People will want to know what they are entitled too - yet the sensitive nature of the topic means it’s important to compose this in a sensitive and considered way, so its holistic 
• Be aware of cold language for this topic - it’s essential for this life event, like you would approach policies about
• Inclusive policies are key - ensuring Intended Parents are referred to in policy, be careful about referring to those going down the surrogacy route that they’re not signposted to the Adoption policy. 
• Understand who is impacted by Surrogacy 
• How to support the Childless not by Choice community - recognise that fertility treatment doesn’t always result in a baby. Ensure that those people are recognised in terms of their experiences and signposted to support. 
• Making provisions clear in terms of leave for appointments and will it be paid, ensure practical elements are included
• Hard to say average amount. We’ve seen a variety of days given and we advise there to be some flexibility that it doesn’t just have to be in days but it can also be in hours. 
• There can be non-financial things done as well. 
• Peppy Findings aimed to highlight what was going in terms of access - in relation to the cost of living crisis, the stresses within the access to funding on the NHS and the impact on people’s lives. 
• More people are aware of fertility issues and how that’s not just about IVF but also PCOS and Endometriosis and

Greetings and welcome to a brand new episode of The F Word at Work. Before we kick things off, we genuinely value your feedback, so kindly consider leaving us a review on the platform you're using to listen, whether it's Apple or Spotify.

 Now, in this episode, we have the pleasure of being joined by Emma Flaxman. Emma's career had been centered around marketing for many years. However, in 2019, she received a remarkable opportunity to become a mental health first-aid volunteer, which proved to be a life-changing decision, eventually leading her to her current role in a PhD position.

A deeply personal reason drove Flaxman to seize this chance as she had experienced the harrowing possibility of losing her sister to suicide ten years prior. The mental health training inspired her to establish MINDS, the first DE&I Group within Ph.D. As a result, she was soon entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing Wellbeing content for the entire parent group, Omnicom Media Group (OMG).

Within her Wellbeing role, Emma created a range of resources to educate employees on the impact of mental illness on work. She initiated projects like the Open Letters series, aiming to foster open conversations about mental health experiences among Ph.D. employees. She also made mental health training mandatory for all employees, previously an optional initiative, and passionately advocated for new benefits, such as providing free therapy to all employees. This move gained overwhelming support, with Ph.D. boasting the highest number of sign-ups for this program compared to any other agency within OMG.

What we discussed:

● Introduction to the podcast and the guest, Emma Flaxman.

● Emma's background and roles as a wellbeing partner at PhD, a UK media agency.

● Emma's blog, "Insanely Normal," and her mission to promote mental health awareness in the UK.

● Emma's recent journey to becoming a mental health advocate, starting with her training as a Mental Health First Aider in 2019.

● Emma's personal motivation, as her sister's struggles with mental health inspired her to help others.

● The increase in mental health-related calls after her training, and the insights she gained from the data collected during those calls.

● Discussion on workplace support for mental health and the role of workplace wellbeing.

● Comparison of experiences in promoting mental health in the workplace between the host's project, Fertility Matters at Work, and Emma's initiatives.

● The importance of data and evidence in making a business case for workplace wellbeing.

● The relationship between building a positive workplace culture and the mental health of employees.

● The importance of mental health support in the workplace and the impact of COVID-19 on mental health discussions.

● The role of managers in promoting mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

● The need for proactive mental health support and the shift from reactive to proactive approaches.

● Challenges in discussing and disclosing mental health issues, particularly in relation to fertility issues.

● Strategies for smaller organizations to address mental health without extensive resources.

● The importance of role modeling and leadership in creating a psychologically safe environment.

● The significance of education and understanding different aspects of wellness, including physical, nutrition, and mental health.

● Emma's personal experience with burnout and the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care.

Thanks to our sponsor Apricity Fertility

• You...

Welcome to another episode of The F Word at Work, in coversation with Rachel Suff, a seasoned policy and research professional with 25+ years of experience in employment and HR, has been a Senior Policy Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development UK (CIPD) since 2014. Her role involves shaping public policy, with a focus on health, well-being, and employment relations. Rachel discussed the CIPD's Fertility Guidelines which Fertility Matters at Work consulted with them on and you'll also hear our co-founder Claire Ingle talk about that.

What we discussed:

• The decision to develop the CIPD's guidelines issued in 2023 related to fertility issues and wellbeing.
• Research conducted on fertility issues and the workplace.
• The gap in workplace support for individuals experiencing fertility issues and the impact on employees and organizations.
• The positive feedback and awareness generated by the CIPD's guidelines among HR professionals.
• Challenges organizations face when addressing fertility-related topics, such as misconceptions, lack of understanding, and fear of saying the wrong thing.
• The importance of creating an inclusive and supportive workplace culture for employees facing various well-being challenges.
• The need for education and guidance for HR professionals and managers on fertility-related issues.
• The need for external signposting and resources for employees facing fertility challenges.
• Ambitions for the CIPD's guidelines, including closing the support gap for fertility issues and promoting compassionate workplace cultures.
• The evolution of the guidelines and plans to explore additional topics, such as surrogacy and involuntary childlessness.
• The importance of language and terminology in policies related to surrogacy.
• Support for line managers who may also be dealing with fertility challenges personally.
• The significance of peer support and a broader ecosystem of support in organizations.
• The advice to smaller organizations on implementing changes to support employees facing fertility issues, emphasizing culture, education, and small changes.
• Recognizing fertility issues as a medical condition rather than a lifestyle choice.
• The workplace's role in providing support and reducing the stigma associated with fertility challenges.
• The shared mission of improving support for employees' well-being.

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Welcome to the latest episode of The F Word at Work, where you'll be hearing some throughts from our members, as in July 2023, we held of first in person round table event to bring together our members to share what they had been doing to implement the support from us here at Fertility Matters at Work.

We had three presentations from some of our accredited members, Cadent Gas - who received their Fertility Friendly accreditation in March 2023, the first utilites company to do so, Burgess Mee Family Law, who were the very first of our members to gain their Fertility Friendly Accreditation and the first law firm to do so and Cornwall Council, the first local authority to receive a Fertility Friendly Accreditation so as you see there are companies making waves within their sector with this type of wellbeing activity.

What was discussed:

• Awareness raising
• Training
• Implementing policy and guidance
• Building internal peer-to-peer support
• How having the different insights from the different sectors is really helpful

Have a read of the blog post we shared about the event here

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Welcome to the latest episode of The F Word at Work to mark World Childless Week 2023 and in this conversation you'll be hearing firstly from our expert speaker, Katy Schnitzler founder of MIST Workshops about the research she's been doing around the childless community and the conversations we've been facilitating together. Our first guest is anonymous as she is sharing an extremely personal account of how she wasn't able to have a child - which was part of a session Fertility Matters at Work hosted for Zurich Insurance, we then spoke with Dr Robin Hadley an experienced early-career researcher renowned for his expertise in the intersection of male childlessness and the aging process.

What we discussed:

• Dealing with expectations of how life would be - Marriage, expectations, and pressures to have children.
• Emotional strain, arguments, and discussions about starting a family.
• Feeling pressure due to colleagues' pregnancy announcements.
• Enduring years of abusive behavior due to her desire to have a child.
• Escaping an abusive marriage at the age of 40.
• Finding a new partner and experiencing pregnancy loss.
• Repeated miscarriages, emergency surgeries, and medical searches for answers.
• Experiencing physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.
• Coping with colleagues' questions and well-intentioned but insensitive advice.
• Challenges of sharing personal struggles at the workplace.
• Recognizing the need for a voice for those involuntarily childless.
• Encountering a lack of understanding and insensitive comments.
• Advocating for sensitivity and understanding towards those who are childless.
• Acknowledging the need for proactive support within organizations.
• Highlighting the impact of infertility and childlessness on individuals' lives.
• Encouraging organizations to embrace inclusivity and support for diverse life circumstances
• Dr. Robin Hadley shared his expertise in social gerontology, male childlessness, and aging.
• The rarity of having an in-person podcast recording compared to virtual conversations.
• The significance of World Childlessness Week and the importance of discussing male perspectives on childlessness and aging.
• Statistics about childlessness: One in four men and one in five women are childless, projected rise in childlessness among the over-65 population.
• The concept of "non-category" childlessness and the lack of recognition in academia and policy.
• Factors contributing to childlessness: partner choice, partner changing, timing of relationships, events, and economics.
• Differentiating between "child-free" and "involuntary childlessness."
• The impact of societal norms on men's emotional expression and vulnerability.
• Men's fear of humiliation and societal conditioning around masculinity.
• Disenfranchised grief related to involuntary childlessness and the lack of recognition of this type of grief.
• The emotional challenges and lack of narrative for men experiencing childlessness.
• The association of parenthood and how it's often focused on women, leaving men with limited narratives.
• The impact of childlessness on the workplace, including assumptions, responsibilities, and biases.
• Potential issues for childless men in the workplace: filling in for others with children, lack of recognition, and increased workload.
• Lack of recognition of men's fertility challenges, even in their 30s and 40s.
• Workplace considerations for childless men: acknowledging their experiences, offering support, and addressing

We're back with Series 2 of The F Word at Work from Fertility Matters (FMAW) at Work and we're launching into our new season discussing the changes to the Surrogacy reform bill in conversation Mike Johnson-Ellis.

If you have been following us and FMAW for a while, you know that Mike is our good friend and are working closely with My Surrogacy Journey supporting intended parents with workplace issues. If you don't know Mike he is a prominent advocate for surrogacy and fertility treatments and along with his partner Wes, is the founder of Two Dads UK with his partner Wes and the pair have founded My Surrogacy Journey (MSJ) and the Modern Family Show.

You can hear our previous conversation with Mike where he talks through his personal experience at work, and what it was like as a gay man in a toxic male environment where he was told that becoming a parent was 'committing career suicide'!!

Mike and Wes have immense passion in the work they do and we're proud to partner with them as they raising awareness about the significance of surrogacy for LGBT+ couples. Mike has been recognized as a pioneering figure within the LGBT+ community and honored with The Surrogacy Professional of the Year Award and is in high demand as a speaker for various LGBT-themed events, so we're delighted to have him on the pod again.

What we discussed:

• Mike's work with TwoDadsUK.com and My Surrogacy Journey and the conversations they have around gay parenting and diversity to fertility treatment and the journey to parenthood through surrogacy, all with a focus on LGBTQ+ parenting.
• The Modern Family Show, a family-building event happening on 23.09.23 - tickets are still available
• The recent legislative changes related to surrogacy and their impact on intended parents, what Mike considers to be a win, and what still needs to happen
• What organisations need to consider in terms of raising awareness around surrogacy, such as it being separate from adoption leave, how language needs to be more inclusive
• What not to say to people who are embarking on surrogacy - comments such as 'you're buying a baby' or 'just adopt' are ill-informed and offensive
• The importance of inviting men in to talk about their health, especially their fertility, and how gay men in particular have a lack of education about their fertile health
• How awareness-raising webinars with men is a powerful way to validate the conversation
• Mike's plans for further family building through surrogacy in Mexico City as My Surrogacy Journey are now supporting a pathway in Mexico.

Have a listen to our past conservation with Mike Ellis about Surrogacy here.

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Well, we made it through our first series of The F Word at Work and we can't thank you enough for listening. We'd love to hear your throughts so if you're listening to this in Apple or Spotify, please do take the time to follow this podcast and also leave us a review. We'll be back in June with Series 2, talking about the new surrogacy reform bill, as well as sharing more wise words from our members about the work they're doing and thought leadership on Mental Health at Work, make sure you've subscribed. This episode is the perfect finale to our series, a conversation with one of our trainers Katy Schnitzler, founder of Mist about her research and training around pregnancy loss and childlessness.

**Trigger warning as we talk about pregnancy loss in this episode **

This is another taboo topic within the workplace, that needs to be better understood and supported and we know you will learn a lot from what she shares.

What was discussed:

• Research into pregnancy loss
• How Katy set up a consultancy to share her research 
• How employers need training alongside policy
• How shocking some of the insensitive reactions were from line managers
• The comments that people say in general about pregnancy loss
• People are unsure of how to react to pregnancy loss - due to the taboo 
• Communication training is well received - helping people what to say
• Not assumption forming - that everyone experiences pregnancy in the same way
• If there isn’t a policy it implies you can’t speak about pregnancy loss 
• How PTSD affects someone who has experiences pregnancy loss, panic attacks 
• 1 in 6 people women show symptoms of PTSD as a result of pregnancy loss 
• How men feel overlooked - therefore the training covers the impact on partners as they are ignored 
• The language used for those around those who don’t have children
• How someone was told they didn’t get the job as the person who did had ‘more supervision’ as they’re a parent
• How working from home requests have been designed as people don’t have children 

We refer to an episode of The Fertility Podcast, which is an interview with Dr Jessica Farren about her research which you can listen to here podcast link 

We also talk about Jody Day and I've shared another episode from The Fertility Podcast here which is Jody talking about why we need to talk about childless women differently. Have a listen.

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Welcome to another episode of The F Word at Work. This is our penultimate series and we'd love to hear more of your feedback, so please do leave a review in the app you are listening to - it's possible in Apple & Spotify. Now, as we head towards the end of the series, we're once again sharing an example of Best Practice from one of our members News UK and we're delighted to be joined by Hannah Spencer Head of Finance Transformation. Hannah joined our launch event which we helf for the organisation in July 2022 and has been doing incredible work within a working group to support HR in it's policy development and also to offer that essential peers support which you will hear her explain more about. Hannah also recently joined us to speak on a panel discussing fertility issues at work, with This Can Happen

*Trigger warning* we talk about pregnancy loss and trauma in this episode.

What we discussed: 

• Hannah's ongoing fertility treatment journey. 
• The struggle of going through treatment whilst in the workplace. 
• Balancing work while going through treatment. 
• When Hannah first spoke out about her fertility treatment 
• The impact her treatment had on Hannah's career choices
• How Hannah's boss and teammates supported and encouraged her to accept opportunities that came her way. 
• What pushed Hannah to share her story in the panel last July 2022 
• Why people on the journey and going through treatment wouldn't want to talk openly about it 
• Hannah's colleagues spoke about their personal journeys on the panel as well. 
• The feedback after the panel and what  was been happening since 
• How they're building fertility and infertility support groups at NewsUK 
• How having peer support groups is key to becoming fertility-friendly 
• The proactive side of what NewsUK has been doing with their support groups 
• Ensuring managers know where to go and that there's a consistent approach to how people are looked after, despite everybody's experiences being different. 
• Signposting managers to the right resources - creating a manager support pathway
• How resources are important to managers to identify and learn what the team needs if they are going through fertility/infertility treatment. 
• Hannah's advice to anyone planning to start imposing the well-being agenda in the workplace 
• Hannah's take on having boundaries whilst being a fertility advocate 

Have a listen to our conversation with This Can Happen founder Zoe Sinclair here  

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