How to Create a Hormone-Friendly Veterinary Workplace: FREE Workshop Series on Hormones And Stress at Work

If you work in veterinary medicine, you already know how demanding the job is. Long shifts, emotional weight, physical pressure, and the constant need to be switched on. Now layer on the reality that a significant proportion of the vet workforce is navigating hormonal changes — whether that's PMS, PMDD, perimenopause, menopause, fertility treatment, pregnancy loss, or other hormonal transitions — often in complete silence.

That silence has a cost. And it doesn't have to be that way.

Why Hormonal Health Matters in Veterinary Workplaces

Veterinary medicine has one of the highest proportions of women and AFAB individuals in any professional workforce, and yet conversations about how hormonal health intersects with work performance, mental health, and team dynamics remain rare — or are dismissed entirely.

This isn't about weakness, and it's not about needing to be more resilient. It's about biology. Hormones affect stress responses, emotional regulation, cognitive function, and energy levels. When we ignore that reality in our workplaces, we lose good people, damage team culture, and compound the profession's already well-documented wellbeing crisis.

The good news? There is a growing body of knowledge about what actually helps — and most of it doesn't require sweeping, expensive, or complicated changes.

What Is a Hormone-Friendly Workplace?

A hormone-friendly workplace is one that acknowledges the biological reality of its team members and makes thoughtful, practical adjustments to support them — without stigma, without fuss, and without requiring people to justify their needs in ways that feel humiliating.

This includes:

• Awareness: Leaders and colleagues understanding that hormones affect performance and mood, and that this is normal — not a character flaw

• Flexibility: Where possible, adjusting workloads, rotas, or expectations during times of heightened hormonal impact

• Communication: Creating an environment where people feel safe to ask for what they need

• Inclusive leadership: Managers who know how to respond supportively — not just with good intentions, but with practical tools

• Psychological safety: A culture where hormonal health isn't a taboo topic or a source of embarrassment

Crucially, a hormone-friendly workplace is also a realistic one. In veterinary practice, rotas need filling and animals need care. The goal isn't to make the impossible happen — it's to remove the unnecessary barriers and create as much flexibility and understanding as is genuinely possible.

Who Does This Affect?

More people than you might think.

Hormonal health isn't just a "women's issue," and it's not limited to those currently menstruating. The following experiences all involve hormonal shifts that can affect someone's capacity at work:

• PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) — mood changes, fatigue, brain fog, physical symptoms in the days before a period

• PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) — a severe form of PMS with significant psychological symptoms that can be debilitating

• PME (Premenstrual Exacerbation) — when an existing mental health condition worsens in the premenstrual phase

• Perimenopause and menopause — affecting concentration, sleep, mood, energy, and confidence, often over many years

• Fertility treatment — hormonal interventions that can cause significant physical and emotional side effects

• Pregnancy loss — hormonal grief that is rarely acknowledged or supported in the workplace

• Other hormonal transitions — including gender-affirming hormone therapy and conditions such as endometriosis or PCOS

Even if you don't personally experience any of the above, you almost certainly manage or work alongside someone who does.

The Hidden Cost of Staying Silent

When veterinary professionals don't feel able to flag hormonal challenges at work, the consequences are real. People push through days when they're not functioning at their best — often taking on clinical risks in silence. Others leave the profession entirely, citing burnout or feeling unsupported.

A session run by Vet Empowered in October 2025 on PMS, PMDD, and the impact of hormones on mental health was attended by nearly 400 veterinary professionals. The response was striking — attendees described it as a lightbulb moment. Many had never had their experiences named, validated, or connected to their working lives before. The single most common question that followed was: "What can actually change at work?"

(Psst... want to catch up on the last webinar? https://vetempowered.thrivecart.com/pms-and-pmdd-vetmed/)

What Realistic Workplace Adjustments Look Like

Here's what the evidence and lived experience suggest actually helps — even in busy practice settings:

For individuals:

• Tracking your cycle to anticipate higher-impact phases and plan accordingly where possible

• Knowing your rights — reasonable adjustments for health conditions (including those worsened by hormones) are a legal entitlement in the UK under the Equality Act

• Preparing for conversations with your line manager so you can ask for what you need clearly and confidently

• Accessing support early, rather than waiting until things reach crisis point

For managers and leaders:

• Learning the basics of how hormonal health affects performance — not to become an expert, but to respond with understanding rather than frustration

• Creating check-in cultures where people feel safe to say they're struggling

• Making flexible adjustments where possible — swapping a heavy rota day, adjusting shift patterns temporarily, reducing solo consult load

• Knowing when and how to signpost to further professional support

For practice culture:

• Normalising conversations about wellbeing that include — not just mental health in the abstract — but the specific biological factors affecting your team

• Updating policies to explicitly include hormonal health conditions, not just menopause (which is already enshrined in UK employment guidance)

• Leadership modelling: when those at the top are willing to talk about this, it gives everyone else permission

Join Us: Free Webinar Series on the Hormone-Friendly Veterinary Workplace

Vet Empowered, sponsored by Covetrus, is running a free two-part webinar series with Clinical Psychologist Dr Helena Tucker — designed specifically for veterinary professionals and built directly on feedback from our community.

As Dr Helena Tucker puts it:

"If you or members of your team are navigating PMS, PMDD, perimenopause, menopause, fertility challenges, pregnancy loss, hormonal treatment or other significant hormonal transitions, this series will help you better understand the workplace impact and create more sustainable, supportive environments."

Session 1: Creating a Hormone-Friendly Veterinary Workplace

Sunday 29th March 2026 | 10:00am BST | Free | 90 minutes

Foundations for wellbeing, sustainability and support in high-pressure settings — covering how hormones affect stress and performance, what support is reasonable to ask for, and how to begin these conversations safely and confidently.

Session 2: From Awareness to Action — Advocacy and Sustainable Support in Veterinary Teams

Saturday 11th April 2026 | 10:00am BST | Free | 90 minutes

Leadership, inclusion, and shared responsibility — covering advocacy within veterinary workplaces, engaging male colleagues and leaders, practical inclusion for diverse hormonal experiences, and creating stigma-free sustainable change.

Both sessions are free to attend, open to vets, nurses, practice managers, and leaders, and will be recorded. They are inclusive of women, AFAB individuals, and anyone whose work or wellbeing is affected by hormonal change.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1gjSl4osQkKnihbgUVRpQQ

About Dr Helena Tucker, DClinPsy

Dr Helena Tucker is a Clinical Psychologist specialising in women's mental health, with a particular focus on PMDD, PME, neurodiversity, and menopausal mental health. She draws on CBT, ACT, and CAT, and brings her own lived experience of PMDD to her work. She runs an online PMDD & PME Empowerment Programme and facilitates monthly PMDD clinics.

About Vet Empowered

Vet Empowered is a veterinary wellbeing and coaching organisation co-founded by Katie Ford MRCVS FRCVS and Claire Grigson in 2020. With a community of over 22,000 veterinary professionals, Vet Empowered delivers coaching programmes, corporate workshops, webinars, and educational content focused on sustainable careers, psychological safety, and authentic leadership in veterinary medicine.

This series is free thanks to the generous sponsorship of Covetrus, whose support makes it possible to keep this content accessible to everyone in the profession.

A word from Covetrus:

"It is our mission to make exceptional animal healthcare accessible to everyone. Through our wholesale and technology businesses, we champion animal well-being by delivering high-quality, affordable solutions that support those who care for animals. From essential products to advanced systems and dedicated support, we help veterinary professionals run efficient, modern practices. If you’re passionate about animal healthcare, we are passionate about you."

Find out more about them here: https://solutions.covetrus.com/hormone-friendly-workplace