| Freelance writer Angela Haupt recently wrote an article about a new employment benefit that is being instituted in a few companies in the United States, and as national policy elsewhere: menstrual leave. Advocates point out that menstrual periods are truly debilitating for some people and argue that these employees should not have to work through pain. This is a good point that I wish Americans would realize goes for any health condition. Too many people in this country who have sick leave nevertheless soldier on through illnesses such as the cold or flu, which not only delays their recovery but spreads their germs. Perhaps menstrual leave – or generous sick leave policies that employers make clear cover menstrual issues – could have the added benefit of helping to change the work-through-anything ethos of the United States. Opponents argue that menstrual leave would not be fair to workers who do not menstruate (which is rather like saying that parental leave is not fair to people who aren't parents) and that it could be abused (which seems unlikely given that, see above, we live in a country where people are often so afraid to take a sick day that they show up ill). Another concern is that instituting menstrual leave could play into the old stereotypes about women not being reliable workers – although the reliability issue is another reflection of the counter-productive expectation that people should put their job before any illness or pain or life circumstance. Clearly, menstrual leave is a complicated issue. As I read Angela's story, however, I wondered about the role that could be played by another rather recent class of employment benefits: flexible workplace policies. It's easier, after all, for people working from home to take a break during the day if they aren't feeling well, and it's much less stressful for anyone suffering from heavy bleeding to work off-site. Could a combination of liberal sick leave and flexible workplace policies negate any need for menstrual leave benefits? Of course, the menstrual leave debate is largely academic at this point. But as it moves forward, there's one fact it shouldn't be allowed to obscure: About 20 percent of America's civilian workers, most of them low-wage employees, have no paid sick days at all. And, as the pandemic has shown us, that is the most urgent work leave issue to address. Take care. | 
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