What to ask for, and how to ask without oversharing
Exploding Topics reports that searches for "perimenopause" have climbed about 740%, yet HR policies addressing the topic have hardly changed across the Wasatch Front. The distance between what women type into a search bar late at night and what their employers have put in writing is the real story here, and it plays out in offices from downtown Salt Lake City to the business parks of South Jordan and Lehi.
Why this number unsettles people
A 740% increase in a search term tells you that a large number of women are hunting for an answer they cannot find anywhere else. A physician in Murray may have had only twelve minutes to discuss it. Their mother might have described it as "the change" and left the subject there. And at work, the benefits portal probably has a page for fertility and another for parental leave, with nothing covering the years between forty-five and sixty. The demand is loud. The policy silence is louder.
What the number reveals, and what it hides
Exploding Topics tracks how interest in a search term shifts over time and compares current levels against an earlier starting point. A jump of that size means many more people are searching than before. It does not tell you how many people, what they discovered, or whether any of them work for your organization. Search volume also feeds itself as coverage grows, so some of the rise reflects greater awareness rather than any change in how women experience the transition. Treat it as a signal of demand, not a count of people affected. Workplace evidence tells a parallel story. According to WebMD Health Services, 45% of women managers and executives conceal their symptoms on the job, and 34% have considered quitting because of them. A 2025 Deloitte survey of 7,500 women revealed that 36% of those experiencing symptoms tolerate severe discomfort without complaint. The need is real, and ignoring it carries a cost of its own.
A typical Wednesday, seen from one desk
Consider a 48-year-old woman in West Jordan who has managed a team for six years. Lately she sleeps four hours a night, loses words in the middle of sentences, and feels a hot flush rise during a budget review like an uninvited guest. At 2 a.m. she typed "perimenopause" into a search bar. last Tuesday. She hasn't mentioned it to a single colleague, partly because she isn't certain what she would request. "Understanding" is not a benefit. Feelings like these tend not to hold up during a reorganization.
How this shapes the way you live from one day to the next in Utah
The problem is a missing policy, not a personal failing, and policies get written when someone with authority asks for one in concrete terms. If you hold a senior role, you can raise it without disclosing anything about your own health, because you are advocating for the organization, which likely has a retention problem it has not yet measured.
Which requests to put forward, and the most effective way to present them
Put three requests in writing, presented as ordinary business needs. First, language in the health policy that lists menopause next to pregnancy and mental health, so supervisors across Sandy and Draper know it is covered. Second, flexibility in room temperature and scheduling that can be requested without first producing a formal diagnosis. Third, a route to a menopause-trained clinician through the company's health plan. A short script might sound like this: "I'd like us to include menopause in our health and flexibility policy. Almost half of senior women in our industry keep symptoms hidden at work, and about a third have weighed leaving because of them. I can draft the language." That reveals nothing about you and still makes the point.
What does our current policy actually say? If finding that answer took a long search, the policy itself is the answer.