M&C Saatchi Sydney introduces new ‘Working From Home. Period’ initiative
In the wake of International Women’s Day, M&C Saatchi Sydney has launched Working From Home. Period. an initiative supporting and encouraging women suffering from period pain to take the time they need to work from home.
The program aims to help normalise conversations and de-stigmatise periods while educating managers on how to sensitively manage conversations on the topic and help women who might need further support.
On the days that women feel unwell, they can let their manager know that they’ll be “WFH. Period.”, creating a more comfortable working environment for women.
Says Nathalie Brady, general manager, M&C Saatchi Group: “Ninety per cent of women experience period pain and for 20%, it’s debilitating. With one-third of men finding periods an unprofessional topic to discuss in the workplace, women often simply endure this pain in silence.
“As a business, we recognised the need to make our workplace more inclusive; to rethink the outdated way of addressing the discomfort some women experience every month through openness and education.”
The WFH. Period. initiative is a proud build on M&C Saatchi’s approach to flexible working which is based on the idea of empowering people to work where they work best and be accountable for the work they deliver. The strategic initiative is designed to increase productivity and happiness in the workplace and is tailored to individual needs, from flexible locations to flex hours, part-time roles and flexible leave.
34 Comments
You mean sick days?
It’s not a sick day. It’s a chance to work in a place that works for you, during a really uncomfortable time. I can’t imagine it would come out of their sick days.
I’m going to safely assume you’ve never experienced period pain, or been struck down for days with crippling endometriosis.
Ooooft – I bloody love this (pun intended)
Well done team.
I am in the very fortunate position of being able to work from home and during those “times of the month” I think about what other women at work do to get through the day. It amazes me! I think this is a great initiative and I hope it is only well received.
Be brave enough to have the conversation with a Yeah Nah – who I assume has no idea how little you get done sitting at a desk pretending you can concentrate. Well done.
No, not a sick day. A day to work on the couch with your laptop and a heat pack on your stomach. Where you can curl in a ball if you need to. And devour a tub of ice cream / a block of a chocolate / arguably enough lunch for two, privately.
Nice one M&C.
More and more, day in day out, advertising somehow becomes even more of a joke.
As one of the debilitated 20% types of lady, I’ve struggled with shame and guilt whenever I’ve needed to stay home and suffer the violent agony. This is inspirational and necessary. So well done!
Hilarious
Why not just catch up with Saatchi’s and introduce flexible working for all? Everybody else will at some point.
If one good thing is to come out of Coronavirus it may be that the advertising industry finally realises that you can work from home and be productive as you are at the office (if not more so in many cases)
Such a great initiative. Well done team!
Perhaps periods will be seen as a normal part of life and not an avoided part. Well done M and C.
… men earn more than women.
bet you don’t, little loser.
Retire with dignity
This will be bleeding insignificant within the next 1-2 months.
Just do a company-wide email informing staff of the policy rather than this virtue signaling bullshit agencies have fall into as a PR opportunity.
Absolutley acceptable, commendable and needs to be done.
It paves the way for remote working and the flexibility that we need in today’s society.
Hail
V clear where the lines of men VS women lie on this one. If you have even met or know of a woman who experiences debilitating pain as a result, it might be worth actually asking what that is like and the knock on effect, as opposed to stating that this is ‘hilarious’.
Good initiative.
Question – as stated, some woman feel more pain than other woman when it comes to their period. How do you prevent those who don’t feel pain or feel less pain from abusing this initiative? A doctors certificate?
Or, are all women regardless of the pain they feel encouraged to work from home for a period of time every month?
So we’re calling scam ads ‘initiatives’ now. Good to know the latest terminology.
Good that you’re doing it but please tell me you’re not going to enter this into awards. Cannes is on its way, of course.
Sorry this is the most pathetic sexist thing I have ever heard of.
Yes M&C staff will be taking time off – from both a coronavirus pandemic and from clients not spending. Most clients we know of and deal with today will not exist in the future.
Aghhh….me think there will be no Cannes this year.
Didn’t require the bloody tampon. Yes there’s a need to better normalise periods in culture, but this initiative does just that. It’s such a brilliant concept (a much needed concept) and it just feels like the inclusion of that image is to stimulate shock-and-awe for attention which slightly cheapens it. Turns it from positive business practice to award fodder. At least that’s what it feels like to me.
A lot of us don’t find it particularly shocking or cheap to see something that’s a part of our monthly routine used in advertising imagery. If we were doing enough to normalise periods you wouldn’t have felt the need to suggest there was anything wrong with seeing the tampon.
This is great overall.
We also have a daily routine where we release our bowels, but we don’t feel the need to show used toilet paper. Just because it’s normal doesn’t mean you have to be graphic about it.
Just go with the flow
Noah had to pull a lot of strings to part those bloody seas.
Inspired me to do the same for my Hemorrhoids. Look out for the equally arresting visuals
Just have a flexible working policy ya flogs. You wouldn’t need this.
An exercise in floggery of the highest order.