I am back, my bleedersssss. How have you been, my pookies? This time not with strike points but with a ceasefire (are nai nai behen, mai Trump nai hun). Well, if you&rsquo;re new here, we at Benefit News Network are on a quest to bring a change in the corporate jungle.
One day off from this loop to bleed in peace and not listen to &ldquo;woh PPT ready hua ke nai?&rdquo; or our editors yelling, &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s the article I asked you to write?&rdquo; But our management doesn&rsquo;t cause they let their ben bleed in peace hehe&hellip; must be jealousssss girly HUH!
Let me help you out through this. You know a Gujarati saying, &ldquo;માગ્યા વિના મા પણ ન પીરસે,&rdquo; which means, &ldquo;without asking, not even your mom will serve you.&rdquo; Don&rsquo;t wish to stretch it up, so speak up!
Periods are painful, exhausting, and still many workplaces act as if they don&rsquo;t exist, or worse, as if they&rsquo;re a cup of tea everyone can sip while enjoying some sunset at a beach. Imagine sitting through meetings, replying to emails, or pretending everything is fine while cramps are making life miserable. Sounds familiar? That&rsquo;s why we need inclusive workspaces that actually support women, not just policies that look good on paper.
Inclusion isn&rsquo;t just a fancy HR word. It&rsquo;s giving women the freedom to rest when they need it, creating safe and private spaces, normalising conversations around menstrual health, and making sure no one is judged for taking care of themselves. Yes, that includes one paid day off for menstruating women because sometimes, surviving the workday is already a full-time job.
But a day off isn&rsquo;t enough if the culture doesn&rsquo;t change. Organisations need to walk the talk, train managers, make facilities accessible, listen to employees, and create a culture where women don&rsquo;t feel guilty for prioritising their health.
As Devangi Jani, an HR professional, puts it beautifully, &ldquo;If leave is not possible, organisations should allow remote work for a day. If not that, they can have a rest area, medications, and some support team that can be helpful during these days to menstruating employees, even psychological support matters.&rdquo;
And it&rsquo;s not just big corporates that can make space for empathy. Even in smaller setups, the intent matters. Vidhi Gajjar, who works at a small CA firm, says, &ldquo;I work in a small CA firm, so the number of employees is just 3&ndash;4. There aren&rsquo;t any specific facilities, but they provide me free leave for such days.&rdquo;
That right there is what inclusion looks like: empathy over infrastructure, intent over image.
So here&rsquo;s the real question for every workplace: 1. Are workplaces truly making space for women&rsquo;s health, or just ticking boxes? 2. Beyond a single day off, what practical support exists for menstruating employees? 3. And how do we ensure inclusivity is lived, not just written, so women can show up as themselves, without excuses or apologies?
Because at the end of the day, inclusion isn&rsquo;t about hashtags or token policies, it&rsquo;s about letting women live their bodies freely at work. Let us bleed, rest, and exist without shame. Anything less is just pretending to care.

Inclusive workspaces for menstruating employees, where rest and support actually exist

Let My Ben Bleed: Workplaces That Care

Inclusive workspaces for menstruating employees, where rest and support actually exist

October 20, 2025 | 14:06 IST