Is your workplace fertility friendly?

One of the most common concerns highlighted to our charity support network is from people unsure what to tell, or how to discuss, their fertility struggles with their employer. There are often fears around the impact doing so could have on career progression, people are unsure what policies are in place to support them and they worry about the impact what they are going through could have on their performance.

Infertility is recognised as a disease by the World Health Organisation and as many as 1 in 6 individuals will face a struggle to bring home a baby. A 2022 mental health and wellbeing survey conducted by Tiny Seeds found that 87% of respondents thought about their fertility struggles either daily or ‘all of the time’. With 69% reporting feeling depressed, 88% anxious, 75% isolated and 6% suicidal as a result. When you consider the proportion of their time that a person spends at work, these statistics clearly demonstrate the importance of employers being able to recognise the impact infertility and fertility treatment has on those going through it. Knowing how to support employees and colleagues facing such challenges and being able to offer flexibility and understanding to those undergoing treatment are all vital when it comes to being a supportive workplace.

Join us this National Fertility Awareness Week for a free 1 hour lunch and learn session to help you ensure that you are a fertility friendly workplace. During the session Tiny Seeds will offer practical advice about what you as an employer can provide to alleviate some of the concerns outlined above and to ensure that you are offering a supportive working environment to those colleagues who find themselves navigating their way through infertility and fertility treatment. We will share advice about the language to use (or to avoid) when supporting colleagues through treatment and discuss the practicalities of going through an IVF cycle while also being at work. We will share guidance and policy advice alongside helping you to recognise both the physical and emotional toll a fertility struggle can bring, raise awareness within your own workplace and ensure that you have the right support available for those who need it.

Due to limited capacity we will be running 2 sessions, the first on Tuesday 31st October and another on Thursday 2nd November, both from 12-1pm. The sessions will consist of a presentation from Chloé Fosse, Charity Operations Manager for Tiny Seeds and the opportunity to ask questions at the end. Lunch will be provided.

Spaces are limited so we please ask that a maximum of 2 representatives per organisation sign up to attend.