The women’s football team at FC Chelsea has started tailoring training to each player's menstrual cycle—a model that could inspire companies to rethink how they support the creativity and productivity of their female workforce.
An Invitation for Radical Rethinking of Femininity in the Workplace
In women’s football, athletes are often trained as if they were simply smaller versions of male players. However, Coach Emma Hayes took a bold new approach in 2020 when FC Chelsea began adapting training and nutrition based on each athlete’s menstrual cycle. The aim was to enhance team performance while reducing the risk of injuries.
As Coach Hayes notes, women experience a completely different physiological reality every month compared to men. The club now encourages players, with prior consent, to use an app to track their cycles, adjusting their training, recovery periods, and nutrition to the four main phases of the menstrual cycle: menstruation, pre-ovulation, ovulation, and the premenstrual phase. This shift is intended to help women build awareness and understanding of their cycles.
By actively working with the players' natural rhythms, FC Chelsea sees itself as a pioneer in the sporting world, challenging long-standing taboos. In high-level athletics, an absent period is often mistakenly seen as a badge of honor, suggesting the athlete is training "hard enough." Hayes aims to create a healthier training approach—one that is aligned with female physiology.
A Groundbreaking Approach—But Still a Taboo in the Workplace
While cycle-based training seems revolutionary and forward-thinking, acknowledging menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and menopause as part of a “normal” career experience remains rare in most workplaces, especially in top management.
Many women endure menstrual discomfort in silence or suppress their cycles with hormonal birth control. Others find their workday only manageable with heavy painkillers. Statistics show that about 80% of women experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS), enduring moderate to severe pain in the days leading up to and during their periods.
This raises an important question: Where are the voices in the corporate world calling for an understanding of the female cycle—alongside diversity, equal pay, and female empowerment?
It’s a complex topic. For women, discussing this openly requires confronting deep-rooted fears and taboos. Despite the progress in “new work” approaches, disclosing menstrual discomfort as a reason for needing time off remains a professional “no-go.”
Creating a Cycle-Friendly Culture
Are normal and healthy female cycles—menstruation, pregnancy, maternity leave, and menopause—proof that women are less capable than men? Are we falling short of a real female shift in the workplace?
Instead of embracing our cycles, many of us push ourselves to perform continuously, sometimes until we can no longer cope. We tolerate toxic systems, and, sometimes, unknowingly perpetuate them for others—cycle after cycle.
For decades, women have fought to be seen as equals, which is why acknowledging that differences exist can be challenging.
The “have-it-all” narrative has shown its limitations, especially in the past few years. It’s time to pause and consider new pathways. Today, boundaries are pressing not only for those who identify as sensitive or unconventional but for everyone.
Imagining a New Vision
What if women openly discussed their cycles and even planned their calendars, key meetings, and deadlines around them? What if women had the option to work from home or take days off during the most intense days of their period, knowing they could work at peak performance during other phases? What if we created a culture where it was acceptable to acknowledge feeling off-balance—regardless of gender?
We need companies that prioritize not just efficiency, safety, and output, but also the well-being and health of their employees.
While this may sound futuristic, examples from the UK show progress. Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, co-founders of the Red School and advocates of the “Wild Power” movement, promote the idea that female empowerment begins with recognizing a healthy cycle. In the UK, several companies are adjusting their policies to support a cycle-friendly culture. Even in Germany, the movement is gaining momentum, with cycle coaches helping women embrace their natural rhythms.
A natural female cycle isn’t a niche or a myth—it’s a reality for all women.
Getting Started with Cycle Awareness: Three Steps to Learn from FC Chelsea’s Top Athletes
As with any important journey, change starts with us. Here are three steps I recommend for women to begin embracing their cycle:
Step 1: Observe Your Cycle
Knowing your own cycle patterns is crucial. While we have general knowledge of typical hormone curves, each woman’s cycle is unique. I suggest tracking moods, energy levels, pain, or migraines in a journal or an app like Clue. Here’s a free cycle-tracking chart you can download: [Download Link]. Three months of tracking will help you identify patterns in your body’s responses.
Step 2: Learn to Delegate and Ask for Help
Once you know which days you’re less productive, establish a routine that allows you to seek support from your team and plan a lighter schedule during those times. Try scheduling your workload, key meetings, and deadlines around ovulation, reserving regeneration time for when your body needs it most.
Step 3: Let Creativity and Problem-Solving Emerge from Rest
This is my favorite tip and the biggest bonus of cycle awareness. Taking a step back during phases that call for rest often leads to my best ideas and solutions—both personally and professionally. The menstrual phase is an ideal time for introspection and meditation, allowing us to start the next cycle with renewed clarity and purpose.
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