Flow阿姨希望经期成为工作场所的主流

长期以来，月经健康一直是工作场所的禁忌话题。时代产品要么完全不存在，要么隐藏在后面

Despite affecting half the population, menstrual health is still often overlooked in the workplace. Many businesses treat period products like a luxury, while toilet paper is offered at no cost.

尽管影响了一半人口，但月经健康在工作场所仍然经常被忽视。许多企业将仿古产品视为奢侈品，而卫生纸则免费提供。

This narrative is being flipped by Aunt Flow, a business that provides menstrual products in over 60,000 bathrooms and 2500 businesses, schools and venues.

Aunt Flow 正在颠覆这种说法，该公司为超过 60,000 个浴室和 2500 个企业、学校和场所提供经期产品。

Aunt Flow founder and CEO Claire Coder had a lightbulb moment in an event bathroom in 2016. She was stuck without a pad or tampon, and her only option was an old-school coin-operated dispenser.

Aunt Flow 创始人兼首席执行官 Claire Coder 于 2016 年在一次活动卫生间里突然灵光一现。她没有卫生巾或卫生棉条，唯一的选择就是老式的投币式饮水机。

“I thought, ‘wow, if toilet paper is offered at no cost, why aren’t period products?’” Coder told SmartCompany.

“我想，‘哇，如果卫生纸是免费提供的，为什么不提供经期产品呢？’”Coder 告诉 SmartCompany。

We were sitting in a room at HubSpot’s Inbound – a huge conference in Boston with over 12,000 attendees. No doubt, many of them would face similar menstrual challenges through the course of the week.

我们坐在 HubSpot Inbound 的一个房间里，这是在波士顿举行的一次大型会议，有超过 12,000 名与会者。毫无疑问，她们中的许多人在一周内都会面临类似的月经挑战。

Fortunately for them, every bathroom on site was stocked with Aunt Flow baskets of period products – free of charge.

对他们来说幸运的是，现场的每间浴室都免费摆放着弗洛阿姨的篮子，里面装有时代产品。

Aunt Flow wants periods to be mainstream in the workplace

Flow阿姨希望经期成为工作场所的主流

For far too long menstrual health has been a taboo topic in the workplace. Either period products are completely absent, or they’re hidden behind some outdated coin-operated paywall.

长期以来，月经健康一直是工作场所的禁忌话题。要么完全没有时代产品，要么它们隐藏在一些过时的投币式付费墙后面。

“In the early days of Aunt Flow, I had to explain to people why you should offer free period products,” Coder said.

“在 Flow 姨妈的早期，我必须向人们解释为什么应该提供免费的经期产品，”Coder 说。

Not only did companies not get it, but many assumed this meant that Aunt Flow would provide the products for free for them to distribute.

公司不仅没有得到它，而且许多人认为这意味着流阿姨将免费提供产品供他们分发。

There was a distinct disconnect between categorising period products in the same way you would other basic bathroom amenities in the workplace.

就像对工作场所其他基本浴室设施进行分类一样，对经期产品进行分类之间存在明显的脱节。

“No, you have to pay for it – just like you purchase soap and paper towels. Then you offer it at no cost to your employees and guests,” Coder would have to explain.

“不，你必须付费——就像你购买肥皂和纸巾一样。然后你就可以免费向你的员工和客人提供它，”Coder 必须解释道。

Aunt flow is boosting productivity: One tampon at a time

阿姨流正在提高生产力：一次一根卫生棉条

Source: Aunt Flow

来源：流姨

Not having easy access to menstrual products sounds ridiculous when you actually think about it. This is particularly true when you look back at your own surprise-period experiences in professional settings.

当你真正想到这一点时，无法轻松获得经期产品听起来很荒谬。当你回顾自己在职业环境中的惊喜经历时尤其如此。

I’d wager that most of us menstruating folks have been there – stuffing a pad or tampon up a sleeve as you make a mad dash for the bathroom, or being asked where you’re going because you’re taking your handbag with you from your desk.

我敢打赌，我们大多数经期的人都经历过这样的情况——当你疯狂冲向卫生间时，把卫生巾或卫生棉条塞进袖子里，或者因为你带着手提包而被问到要去哪里。你的办公桌。

Or in more dire circumstances, having to make do with single-ply toilet paper while waddling to the shops in the middle of work, hunched over in pain.

或者在更可怕的情况下，不得不在工作中摇摇晃晃地走向商店，痛苦地弯着腰，用单层卫生纸凑合。

But let’s say a workplace is more concerned about output rather than basic employee wellbeing.

但假设工作场所更关心产出而不是员工的基本福祉。

There’s a pitch for that too.

这也是有道理的。

Menstrual products aren’t just a nice-to-have, they’re also a productivity issue.

月经产品不仅仅是一个可有可无的东西，它们还是一个生产力问题。

A US study from 2013 found 86% of women have started their period unexpectedly at work and 64% had to leave to get supplies.

美国 2013 年的一项研究发现，86% 的女性在工作中意外地开始了月经，64% 的女性不得不下班去取用品。

A 2023 study in Australia also dug into the significant effect period symptoms, menopause, menstrual disorders and endometriosis have on paid work.

澳大利亚 2023 年的一项研究还深入探讨了经期症状、更年期、月经失调和子宫内膜异位症对有偿工作的显着影响。

Think about all the time lost because employees have to leave work to buy period products.

想想因为员工必须下班去购买经期产品而损失的所有时间。

“Getting people involved and making sure that they’re staying focused at the office? It’s kind of a no-brainer,” Coder said.

“让人们参与进来并确保他们在办公室保持专注？这是理所当然的事情，”Coder 说。

Coder also thinks it’s time to demand a better solution.

Coder 还认为是时候要求更好的解决方案了。

“We can ask for these basic necessities. We can share our voice,” Coder said.

“我们可以要求这些基本必需品。我们可以分享我们的声音，”Coder 说。

Aunt Flow’s products have been introduced to large workplaces such as Google’s and Netflix’s US offices.

Flow姨妈的产品已被引入谷歌和Netflix美国办公室等大型工作场所。

Unfortunately, there’s still some resistance, because some smaller businesses think it’s expensive. But Coder is quick to point the shift isn’t just for the big players.

不幸的是，仍然存在一些阻力，因为一些较小的企业认为它很昂贵。但 Coder 很快指出，这种转变不仅仅针对大型企业。

“With Aunt Flow, it’s roughly two to five US dollars per female employee per year. It’s so accessible, but it’s not always prioritised,” Coder said.

“对于 Flow Aunt，每位女性员工每年的成本约为 2 至 5 美元。它很容易获得，但并不总是被优先考虑，”Coder 说。

“It’s a low-cost, high-impact initiative.”

“这是一项低成本、高影响力的举措。”

Is the red tide changing in Australia?

澳大利亚的赤潮正在发生变化吗？

Source: Supplied

来源：提供

Aunt Flow isn’t currently available in Australia, but Coder is looking to enter the market in the future.

Aunt Flow 目前尚未在澳大利亚上市，但 Coder 计划在未来进入该市场。

In the meantime, we have seen the conversation around reproductive leave enter the mainstream here in Australia.

与此同时，我们看到围绕生育假的讨论已成为澳大利亚的主流。

Queensland recently introduced reproductive health leave, giving public sector workers up to ten days off for issues like menstruation, IVF and menopause.

昆士兰州最近推出了生殖健康休假，为公共部门工作人员提供长达十天的休假，以解决月经、试管受精和更年期等问题。

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has also been lobbying federal politicians on 10 days of paid leave for workers to deal with their reproductive health.

澳大利亚工会理事会 (ACTU) 也一直在游说联邦政界人士为工人提供 10 天带薪休假，以处理他们的生殖健康问题。

This was off the back of disability service provider, Scope, being the first employer in Australia to provide 12 days of reproductive leave to its 7000 workers.

这是残疾服务提供商 Scope 的功劳，它是澳大利亚第一家为其 7000 名员工提供 12 天生育假的雇主。

This is a big step and one that could take time to become a national leave standard. But there are small but

这是一大进步，可能需要一段时间才能成为全国休假标准。但也有小但是