LONDON -- A Bristol-based company is introducing period leave to make the workplace happier and healthier for its female staff.
Coexist, which runs spaces for business to work in, has a largely female workforce and claims to be the first UK business to introduce a "period policy".
"As a manager of staff I have seen women really suffer with their periods and I have found them doubled over in a lot of pain," Bex Baxter, one of the company's directors, told the Press Association.
"They feel guilty and ashamed for taking time off and often sit at their desks in silence not wanting to acknowledge it."
The company also decided something had to be done in order to break the "great taboo" of menstruation.
"Many companies are male-dominated and encourage long hours but there is a misconception that taking time off makes a business unproductive
"This is not about employees taking more time off but working more flexibly and efficiently around their menstrual cycle and encouraging a work-life balance,” she continued.
Baxter says the idea has been welcomed enthusiastically by staff of both genders.
According to the NHS, 14% of women are frequently unable to go to work due to period pain. Another recent study found that one in 10 women were regularly bedridden by their period pain, and 40% said the pain prevented them concentrating at work. However, period pain is difficult to categorise as it can affect women differently.
Coexist isn't the first company to introduce time off during periods. Nike introduced menstrual leave in 2007, including it in their code of conduct.