As much of an attention grabber as this is, does this make you cringe because it's on LinkedIn?

No? Okay, just me :\

**Reposting for privacy concerns of the poster

To the women here saying their own PMS is “not that bad”. That is your experience. You are doing a disservice to women everywhere by trying to downplay periods because just because yours are not that bad.

We are also doing a disservice by to women by not openly discussing periods. I never knew mine were abnormal until more women around me started talking about theirs. Is this somewhat TMI? Sure. But is a period something that nearly every woman goes through once a month? Yeah. So it’s not that wild to talk about it in an office setting I don’t think.

I also think one of the reasons why we don’t openly discuss periods is because it historically made men uncomfortable. And I’m sorry but if the discomfort of women makes you so uncomfortable you just want to ignore it that’s not a great mindset for us to have as a society.

A lot of people have invisible illness that can’t be seen, like mental health, depression, auto immune disease, MS/CFS that push through the work day all the time and don’t post about it. I think the sentiment of needing some downtime and having overall more sympathy that folks can’t work like robots should be a culture we strive for!
Same for working parents, give them the flexibility to work the hours around family, update your slack message to OOF, back at 2pm when you need a little downtown or have health symptoms that require you to take a break.
I personally love working from home because of this. At client site I have no choice but to push through, at home, I can bring my best self, at the times that suit me, and no-one needs to know about my private illnesses.
Empathy for others without knowing what they are going through is something we should all consider without the neon sign!

Too much information. I’m your work colleague, all you need to say is I’m not feeling well right now. I don’t need to know why. I frankly don’t care why unless it’s impacting my deliverables and makes it so I need to readjust plans. Keep personal information personal.

She's not wrong though

Besides your valid statement that it's cringy on LinkedIn, this isn't even factually correct.

Firstly, not all women experience monthly cycles. So it isn't 50%.

Secondly, not all women who experience monthly cycles experience PMS. That is not a medically valid statement.

Beyond that, the trope of fried brain and feely flowing emotions are pretty much the bigoted misogynistic insults from decades past. Women of all types are perfectly capable of controlling their emotions in professional settings just as well as men.

"I'm not feeling well today" will suffice, thank you. I have Crohn's/IBS and I'm sure you don't want all the details on why I need to step out of meetings unexpectedly sometimes.

I hate to say this, but this is the kind of thing that was historically used as a reason that women were excluded from professional jobs and not put in positions of power and authority

Just replace PMS with Blue Balls.

I’m conflicted. Female here with the worst, most awful cramps every month. Tried a variety of things, but this is the reality of my body.

For me, it is a medical condition. And I do agree that a medical condition is something that should not be shamed in the work place. I don’t think you need to know all the details (“team, it is a heavy flow day”), but I wish there was language that didn’t raise questions about being out a few days or having to rework a schedule monthly / every other month (“she doesn’t take her job seriously”). Trust me, I do. I just literally am in so much pain I cannot be on the call.

So, if we can solve for that, I’m down.

I mean I know some people have bad PMS and that sucks, but I don’t think it’s 50% of a company? I don’t really experience PMS at all so this seems dramatic to me. It’s a problem for some women, but it’s not an “all women” problem

/r/LinkedInLunatics

She's not wrong, I feel like dying every time and my performance is affected ...

So - are you saying that women deserves 3days a month PTO when PMSing, 6months a year when Not PMSing (aka Pregnant) and still ask for equality in Salary? And the only way for men to understand this serious issue is to get continuously punched in the balls for 3 days?

I was in an all day client workshop hemorrhaging (very heavy periods, impacted by stress). I ran through all my tampons, couldn’t get any help as all my colleagues were male. It was a 7am to 11pm kind of work day. I was light headed, felt like throwing up and passing out, the cramps pain was brutal. I pulled through, but it was tough.

Be kind in general, but be extra kind to your female colleagues when they don’t feel well, periods aren’t easy and they get worse with age.

Maybe LinkedIn isn’t the right place for this, but it is a work issue. I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t feel less than 100% on their first day. For me, I get stomach bug symptoms and a lot of pain. Have to take at least a day off. I wish I didn’t have to eat into my PTO because I’m genetically predisposed to feeling sick once a month. That’s 8-10 of my 20 PTO days. How is this fair?

Um this is an actual legit work related matter. I was cramping and had the worst migraine today yet I was expected to act normal and perform. Like people have said, if men experienced menstrual cycles then we would definitely get a few days off each month. But people comparing it to Mondays shows how disadvantaged women are.

@OP - why does it make you cringe? It is an work situation for the person who posted. So what if she is a woman? So what if it is about periods. If you feel that this is something you don’t want to know about, then I can argue that I don’t want really care about my random acquaintances’ certifications and promotions either! There are always things which you don’t appreciate, but doesn’t mean that you can’t be accepting of them!

To each their own.

I get it, because I have PCOS and every single month- for two days at least, I feel as if I have a gaping wound in my stomach. The pain is unbearable, and painkillers are a fluke- they work on some days, and not on others.

I remember this one time, I went to buy some painkillers, and as I stood there- ashen faced, trying to stand up straight- I had people around me ask if they need to call an ambulance.😂

For the people it’s bad, it’s bad.

I don’t mind working from home when I’m menstruating because I can sit in a corner, cry, sob, wince, take a short break, and get back to working.

Even more than PMS, let’s just normalize people taking WFH/day off if they aren’t feeling well- and not ask them why that day off was taken.
I’m personally more than OK with just that.

Women bleed, get over it. Honestly I'd personally not post something like that, but as she is on a company that is open about it, I guess she has nothing to lose. And it's a good reminder to people that all those faces on LinkedIn are actually human too.

I’ve had kidney stones more than once and the pain on my period is comparable for the first two days of my cycle. For kidney stones I go to the hospital, for PMS I have to take 6 Advil and hope for the best.