A new study, published in the journal Menopause, highlights how the popular toy Playmobil can be used to understand and encourage open conversations about women’s experiences of the menopause at work.
Reports indicate that 3 in 5 women are negatively impacted at work because of menopause. Almost 900,000 women have left their jobs because of menopausal symptoms, and women continue to experience menopause-related discrimination.
Dr Alison Owen, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology, explained: “Menopause is a significant life event that all women experience. The average age of menopause in the United Kingdom is 51, but women typically experience symptoms for several years before and after. The health changes associated with menopause can have a negative, sometimes debilitating, impact on a variety of life domains, including professionally.
“As menopause can be seen as a taboo health topic, and one that women can be reluctant to discuss within the workplace, it is important to find supportive and empathic methods to facilitate these conversations.”
Playmobil has raised many generations of young people, serving as an educational toy and encouraging imaginative play, interaction, and creativity. Its Playmobil pro kits are also used in professional and educational settings to support teams in prototyping, project management, and creative workshops.
A growing body of evidence shows the value of using playful approaches in research; however, very little research has explored the use of Playmobil as a research method.
In this study, Dr Alison Owen, Dr Amy Burton and Dr Jennifer Taylor enlisted 12 co-researchers, aged 31-60, working at the University, who were perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
Women attended a workshop where they used Playmobil pro kits to make a figure of themselves and create a representation of their experience of the menopause at work. Participants were encouraged to respond to each other’s stories and examples, resulting in an in-depth focus group discussion.
The conversations highlighted how participants’ physical symptoms of menopause can have a real impact on a person’s working life. For example, pain in their fingers and joints impacted their ability pick things up, to use computers or write things down.
Symptoms such as brain fog and irritability had led to doubts in the women’s perceived ability to be able to do their jobs to a standard they wanted to, with some of the participants expressing that they had considered handing their notices in at work as they felt unable to do the job anymore.
As well as talking about their experiences, participants had ideas for ways in which their work lives could be made easier during times when the menopause was impacting them. For example, the importance of flexi time. The women also discussed the importance of social support, and being able to speak to people who are going through the same things that they were.
When asked about how the session made her feel, one participant said, “Part of a powerful women’s circle. Included, reassured”, another said they felt “empowered”, and another said they felt “understood and valued”.
Another participant commented, “Just being able to speak to somebody and realise maybe somebody else is experiencing it. It doesn’t lessen its impact, it just makes you feel a bit less alone.”
Following the workshop, the researchers have been working with the participants to feedback on the University’s menopause policy and are looking to introduce new ways to support women in the workplace – such as a menopause café and menopause champions.
Dr Amy Burton, Associate Professor of Qualitative Health Research, said: “Using Playmobil proved to be an extremely effective tool for tackling the taboo of menopause in the workplace. The workshop provided a safe space, allowing the women to talk about their experiences in a “playful” way, which led to powerful and meaningful discussions in a way that participants enjoyed and felt comfortable with.”
Dr Jennifer Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Qualitative Psychological Research Methods, added: “Many of the participants found attending the research workshop very beneficial and healing, as they were able to speak to and meet other people with the same experience. For some of the participants, it was the first time they had spoken about menopause openly with a group of other people.
“Going forward, it would be useful to explore the use of Playmobil in other research projects and see if it works as effectively with other health topics.”