Benjamin Peter 06:23, April 22, 2022

Since March 8, on the occasion of International Women's Day, the employees of the Louis company, which specializes in the design and production of wooden office furniture, have been able to benefit from one day per month of menstrual leave.

An employee initiative that promotes well-being at work and also represents an economic gain for the company.

These are employees who have alerted the situation of their colleagues.

Every month, some suffer from painful periods.

At Louis, we design and produce plywood office furniture for businesses.

The start-up is based in Labège in the inner suburbs of Toulouse and has 18 employees, nearly half of whom are women, particularly in production for cabinetmakers.

They handle boards, sand them, bevel them, physical work.

For Margot, who every month experiences intense pain during her period, some days can be difficult.

"It's a worry every time I have my period, because I'm very weak. We carry heavy loads, we stand, we trample a lot and I have a lot of pain," she admits.

"I've already asked to leave in the middle of a day because I really didn't feel well and no longer able to work. So it was a wasted day".

It was his colleagues, Manu and Lucie, who went to see the management with this project: to offer employees who so wish to have an additional day off each month.

A "natural constraint"

“We have people who every month had to take a day off from their personal paid leave, so we thought it was not fair at all” explains Manu.

"The women ended up with one day less than everyone else in the company, so it was just a matter of rebalancing".

The management, sensitive to these issues of equality, quickly accepted this project.

"The idea is to say that it's not a disease, it's a natural constraint that women have had for almost 35 years. They can't do anything about it", notes general manager Thomas Devineaux.

"To put everyone on an equal footing and promote the well-being of all at work, it seemed to us to be a relevant tool".

Employees who wish and who can, in particular those who work in the marketing part, can also benefit from a day of teleworking to be more comfortable at home.

The participatory approach allowed the initiative to be well perceived by the men of the company.

"We built a framework, a charter to prevent a male colleague from telling us in a few months 'I too have back pain so I want that'", explains Thomas Devineaux.

"Today if you want to be hired at Louis, you have to accept this rule of life that we have in the company. It allows us to materialize our concrete commitment to gender equality".

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No abuse

This menstrual leave allowed Margot to be relieved of these worries and to go to work more serenely.

"I am reassured that we can have this possibility of posing one day - without abusing it of course - in order to be able to rest and come back fresher the next day", she testifies.

"It's reassuring to have this option and it motivates us on a daily basis".

So far, neither she nor her colleagues have had to use it.

"It also proves that there is not necessarily abuse and that it is really on the basis of trust", recognizes Manu.

This approach also lifted a taboo in the company on the rules and their consequences.

"It happens to us now that during a break a woman can tell us 'Ah I'm on my period right now, I'm not well' and there's no teasing, nothing. It's just become a subject like any other."

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"A huge gain"

The company will take stock at the end of the year of the number of days given to support this program, but Thomas Devineaux has already noticed that the company can find an economic interest in it.

"If we are very pragmatic, it allows us to avoid the unexpected," he admits.

"Because if a person comes to work for two hours, does not feel well and has to go home, in the end we have a missing person and we fall behind. If we know in advance that someone will not be there , we can adapt our production schedule and that's a huge gain".

But the most important gain, he also sees it on the corporate culture which builds the loyalty of its employees and in particular women.

Several companies have already contacted the start-up with the idea of ​​drawing inspiration from its experience.

“To tell ourselves that we are among the first and that others can be inspired by us, I find that interesting,” says Margot.

"It's stylish. I'm quite proud!"