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Thailand makes moves to improve work/life balance for employees by reducing the maximum workweek to 40 hours and expanding family and menstruation leave. (www.wtwco.com)

submitted 11 months ago by Dagotad@lemmy.world to c/upliftingnews@lemmy.world

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[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 106 points 11 months ago

menstruation leave

If you let Americans know this exists, the Democratic Party will be torn apart from the inside

[-] Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 11 months ago

So no difference to right now?

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

If you can't avoid a fight, its better to face it head on.

[-] regedit@lemmy.zip 3 points 11 months ago

If you can't avoid a fight, its better to face it head on.

Wield those tampons like fuckin' nunchucks!

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl 3 points 11 months ago

They weigh more used.

[-] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

The psychological damage would be far greater too!

[+] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com -6 points 11 months ago

I've never heard of it before.

As a guy, I need to hear a woman's opinion, but ...

My initial reaction is that it perpetuates the perception that women are inferior. As in, if I were in a professional environment competing for promotion with men, I sure as shit would be doing my absolute best to avoid having to take any menstruation leave.

Very on brand for modern conservative south-east asian country. You can appear to be accommodating to women while actually building barriers.

[-] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 45 points 11 months ago

I don't know Thailand's rules, but for many women, menstruation is a big deal. For many it's a minor onvonvenience, for others is painful and debilitating, especially with things like endometriosis. Having specific leave would be beneficial for many. I'm sure it is at risk of being abused, but more likely, some women never use otz some use it occasionally and some more frequently. I'm sure sick leave could be used elsewhere, but then they would run out for other illnesses.

Perhaps we should consider additional sick leave for all people with a chronic condition, rather than a blanket one for women related to one aspect of their health.

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl -5 points 11 months ago

I have a trans friend (mtf) who has definitely abused these before

[-] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 5 points 11 months ago

I've also called in sick when not actually sick. Wow, there's two of us. Maybe you should pass my details to your friend so we can compare notes.

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl 1 points 11 months ago

Yep. This definitely happens.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

My initial reaction is that it perpetuates the perception that women are inferior.

Is this the first time you're learning about menstruation?

[-] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 11 months ago

Why do you have to be such an ass about it?

Gender bias is a real thing.

[-] Mist101@lemmy.world -4 points 11 months ago

Duder, you opened your mouth and shit fell out. Next time think before you speak shit or don't get mad when people call your shit-speak what it is.

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl 0 points 11 months ago

Have you ever even serpent, apple, and Eve?

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I get what I consider moderate periods, based on unscientific comparisons with friends. I had to go to the hospital once, and last year it put me on the ground, with shallow breathing, sweating, nausea for the better part of an hour.

The important thing is that mine only seems to be awful if I’m not doing anything. I know it’s not like this for everyone, but I’ve never been stricken down by cramps while in a rush at work or while physically exerting myself (I suspect cramps are correlated with flow speed and physical exertion or stress cause them to drop off at those times, but that’s entirely based on my own experience). It can be debilitating, but likely wouldn’t preclude me from being just as theoretically able to help in any given situation as a man.

I sure would benefit from not having to use sick time to cover for the very rare occasions that I get bad cramps before I go to work though.

[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Maybe a dumb question, but if those are the risks you face, why not just take the pill every day? As in, skip the placebos.

My first wife had crippling menstrual cramps, toughest woman I've even known couldn't get out of bed. Her doc put her on extra birth control, done, never had a period again.

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Fuck the pill, lol. My sex drive completely drops off a cliff, I gain a bunch of weight, and I’m tired all the time. Plus, the period I get after I stop is the really painful one.

As the other commenter said, it does increase your risk of some cancers, but it also reduces your risk of other cancers, so I don’t know enough to choose which ones.

[-] Seleni@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Well, in my case it’s because those pills exacerbate the chances of getting cancers my family is prone to…

[-] shalafi@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Well crap. I'd heard something about that, but it's been nearly 20 years, thought it was an old-wive's tale. Ex's doctor told her there was zero risk, but again, that was 20 years back.

[-] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 11 months ago

Sure, but I'm sure you can imagine what would happen if your managers are almost exclusively male, looking for ways to exclude women from the boys club, and you take menstrual leave a few times a year.

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

I suspect it would still be better than if I disappeared into the bathroom on a quiet workday and came out a couple hours later, sweaty and having obviously cried.

I do take sick leave in general less often than male coworkers and partners have, so I’d probably just highlight that in my year end meeting.

[-] workerONE@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

It's essentially medical leave because of women's biology. I can't imagine the mental hoops you jumped through to conclude that this is only appearing to accommodate women but actually it's building barriers.

[-] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 11 months ago

I'm not sure how much time you've spent in South East Asia, and Thailand specifically, but professional roles are heavily male dominated, old boys clubs, pay gaps, et cetera.

If an employee takes "menstrual leave", that's an easy way for male dominated management to suggest that women aren't suitable for higher level roles because they are unpredictable and less physically capable.

It's pretty easy to imagine these mental hoops honestly.

[-] workerONE@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

But women are already suffering from menstruation pain and taking time off, this would just allow them to be paid. Companies that are already male dominated are obviously already discriminating and don't need any tools to do so... Male dominated management can already suggest that women aren’t suitable for higher level roles because they are unpredictable (that's not true), and they can already claim they are physically less capable so I'm not sure what your point is. I haven't worked in Thailand because I've never had a visa that allowed working. Not sure what your experience is. Maybe look at Johnny Cash's links that show that Thailand is top 3 in the world for women in executive rolls.

Your statement "Very on brand for modern conservative south-east asian country. You can appear to be accommodating to women while actually building barriers." implies that the purpose of this change is actually to build barriers for women, which isn't true. It's obvious that the purpose is to help women- do you have any proof of your claim?

You're really focused on corporate executive roles but you know most women don't have jobs like that.

I would like to see initiatives like these in more countries. I think it sets a good example and it shows they are doing many things right.

[-] JohnnyCash@sopuli.xyz 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

What are you talking about?

https://wikigender.oecdcode.org/index.html%3Fp=1746.html

https://www.grantthornton.co.th/press-releases/press-release-2020/women-in-business-2020-report2/

https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/thailand/general/40036456

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-25/women-gain-ground-in-thai-c-suites-not-so-much-in-government

this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2025

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