Research: Complex fertility journeys and the workplace

Research summary

• August 2020 to July 2022

This project aims to raise awareness of the workplace issues around complex fertility journeys, which can include infertility, fertility treatment, miscarriage and childlessness. 

These journeys can include several rounds of fertility treatment, with each being demanding physically, psychologically, socially and potentially financially.

These experiences are commonplace for workers around the world.

The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide 15% of all reproductive-age couples experience issues with infertility - an age that coincides with a key time in people’s working lives.

There are also specific fertility challenges for same-sex couples and women pursuing motherhood alone.

When it comes to the interaction between work and family, academic research and organisational support has tended to focus upon experiences after the point of conception, such as pregnancy and childbirth, whereas pre-conception fertility remains a largely invisible workplace issue.

Our research seeks to fill this gap in knowledge to help organisations better support employees through challenging journeys. 

We explore how fertility journeys play out in a range of work contexts, and focus on a range of issues including:

• disclosure

• attending appointments

• work performance

• managing side-effects of treatment and emotions at work

• liaising with clinics during work time

• financial issues

• identity issues

• support received at work

Data collection methods include personal history interviewing and a review of online materials.

We have interviewed over 80 individuals who have experience navigating complex fertility journeys alongside employment - with participant diversity of gender, relationship status, sexual orientation and industry, job role and contract type.

We have also interviewed line managers to explore their confidence, capability and perceived autonomy when it comes to providing support to employees, as well as a number of fertility counsellors. 

A key output will be an ethnodrama about complex fertility journeys and the workplace - a dramatisation of the key issues raised that we will develop from the research data. This will be shown to various audiences including human resources professionals and people managers, reproductive science students and the general public.

We are also working with:

• the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) on guidance on fertility treatment and pregnancy loss
• A number of organisations comprising the ‘Workplace Fertility Campaign Group’, including Fertility Network UK and Fertility Matters at Work.
• Tommy’s charity on their Pregnancy and Parenting at Work resource

As a sample of the ethnodrama output, we include two short audio clips below. These are fictionalised vignettes derived from research data, and may be of interest to those on complex fertility journeys, people managers, and those with a general interest in learning more about the possible issues.

The HR Meeting sets out some of the issues around disclosing fertility treatment and miscarriage in the workplace, manager handling of disclosure, and issues around HR policy. It is not intended to be a ‘how to conduct such a meeting’ guide, but rather a prompt for discussion.

Man Up is a monologue from the male/partner perspective. Another of the ethnodrama audio clips, addressing the issue of involuntary childlessness as one outcome of a fertility journey, has been featured on the World Childless Week 2022 website.

Research outputs

Articles and Chapters

• Wilkinson, K. and Mumford, C. (2024), “Navigating Fertility Treatment Alongside Work and Employment: The Work-Fertility Interface”, Wilkinson, K. and Woolnough, H. (Ed.) Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 67-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-219-820241006
  Link: Navigating Fertility Treatment Alongside Work and Employment: The Work-Fertility Interface | Emerald Insight

• Wilkinson, K.; Mumford. C. and Carroll, M. (2023) Fertility is becoming a workplace issue but employer support can create winners and losers (theconversation.com)
• Wilkinson, K, Mumford, C and Carroll, M (2023) Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Work, Employment and Society: Extending the debate on organisational involvement in/responsibilities around fertility and reproduction. Work, Employment and Society (open access)
• Mumford, C, Wilkinson, K and Carroll, M (2022) “Potential parenthood” and identity threats: Navigating complex fertility journeys alongside work and employment. In: Gender, Work and Organization (open access)
• Wilkinson, K (2022) How fertility issues can affect employees — and what HR can do to provide support In: People Management
• Wilkinson, K (2022) How might fertility treatment affect the wellbeing of your staff? In: Mental Health at Work, Mind Charity
• Wilkinson, K (2022) How to talk about miscarriage and baby loss at work In: Mental Health at Work: Mind Charity
• Wilkinson, K and Carroll, M (2021) The Business Case for More Fertility-Related Benefits and Support In: The Wall Street Journal

Events

• Workplace Fertility Campaign Group drop-in session in Parliament (March 2024), hosted by Nickie Aiken MP to launch our White Paper ‘The impact of fertility challenges in the workplace: The case for action and legislative change’.
• ‘Complex fertility journeys and employment: Becoming more fertility friendly’. CIPD Applied Research Conference, January 2023
• ‘Complex fertility journeys and employment: developing “family-friendly” flexible working policies to protect workers before pregnancy and childbirth’. Work and Family Researchers Network Conference: Work-Family Justice — Practices, Partnerships, and Possibilities, June 2022
• ‘Balancing fertility treatment and employment: three types of “labour” and resulting work-life conflict’. Psychosocial stream. Fertility 2022 Conference, January 2022
• ‘Can rhythm intelligence challenge the silence around fertility work?’. Stream 18: Silence in the workplace. Gender, Work and Organization Conference, July 2021
• ‘Complex fertility journeys: negotiating “potential parenthood” and paid employment. Track 57: Organizing Identities — Inclusivity, Exclusivity, Mis-clusivity European Group for Organisation Studies (EGOS) Conference, July 2021

Follow us on social media for details of podcasts and webinars on this topic.

Associated research

• Wilkinson, K, Atkinson, C, Schnitzler, K, Crozier, S and Lord, S (2023) Northern Care Alliance Well Women Strategy: Research into practice on women’s health in the workplace