Workplace identity, menopause and experiential narratives (WIMEN)

Simple item page
dc.check.chapterOfThesisAcknowledgmentsen
dc.check.infoPartial Restriction
dc.contributor.advisorDockray, Samantha
dc.contributor.advisorDempsey, Maria
dc.contributor.advisorFoley, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorWall, Stephanieen
dc.contributor.funderHealth Service Executiveen
dc.date.accessioned2026-09-30T11:10:39Z
dc.date.available2026-09-30T11:10:39Z
dc.date.issued2026-04-27en
dc.date.submitted2026-04-27
dc.descriptionPartial Restriction
dc.description.abstractThe menopausal transition typically occurs during midlife, a period during which many women remain actively engaged in professional roles. Although research on menopause in the workplace has increased in recent years, much of the existing literature has focused primarily on symptom management and productivity outcomes, with comparatively limited attention to the psychological processes through which menopausal experiences intersect with workplace identity. This thesis aimed to explore how the menopausal transition shapes women’s workplace identities and how these identities are negotiated within everyday working life. The thesis comprised of two complementary qualitative studies. The first study was a systematic review, which thematically synthesised existing evidence on how the menopausal transition shapes women’s workplace identities. Across the nine studies included in the review, menopausal symptoms were identified as destabilising to women’s professional selves, disrupting previously stable experiences of competence and credibility at work. Women engaged in strategies such as concealment, resilience, or selective disclosure in order to maintain professional functioning. The review also identified how cultural and structural contexts shape identity work, and identified significant limitations within the literature, particularly a lack of research examining how these identity processes unfold within the context of everyday working life. The second study addressed this gap using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore how women made sense of menopausal experiences in everyday working life and how these experiences shaped workplace identity. Participants documented and reflected on their experiences of menopause in the context of work through structured reflective diaries completed over a four-week period, allowing experiential narratives to be captured as workplace experiences unfolded over time. This provided insight into how embodied changes, workplace expectations, and relational dynamics interact within everyday professional contexts, shaping how women interpreted their competence and professional selves. The analysis suggests that menopause functions as an identity-relevant developmental transition in which embodied disruption prompts processes of identity tension, renegotiation, and maintenance within professional contexts. Drawing together insights from both studies, the thesis proposes a conceptual framework illustrating how menopausal identity disruption emerges through the interaction of embodied changes, organisational expectations surrounding professional performance, and relational recognition within workplace environments. Conceptually, the research advances menopause at work literature by positioning menopause as a psychological, relational, and organisational phenomenon rather than solely a biomedical or productivity-related issue. Methodologically, the use of structured reflective diaries enabled identity processes to be examined as they unfolded within everyday working life. The findings also highlight important implications for clinical psychology and organisational practice, emphasising the importance of recognising how menopausal experiences intersect with professional identity, belonging, and meaning making within workplace contexts.en
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationWall, S. 2026. Workplace identity, menopause and experiential narratives (WIMEN). DClinPsych Thesis, University College Cork.
dc.identifier.endpage177
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/19376
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity College Corken
dc.rights© 2026, Stephanie Wall.
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectMenopause
dc.subjectWorkplace identity
dc.subjectProfessional identity
dc.subjectSystematic review
dc.subjectThematic synthesis
dc.subjectInterpretative Phenomenological Analysis
dc.titleWorkplace identity, menopause and experiential narratives (WIMEN)
dc.typeDoctoral thesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnameDClinPsych - Doctor of Clinical Psychologyen
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
WallS_DClinPsych2026.pdf
Size:
1.94 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Full Text E-thesis
Thumbnail Image
Name:
WallS_DClinPsych2026_Partial.pdf
Size:
2.1 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Partial Restriction
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
5.2 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Research Theses
Applied Psychology - Doctoral Theses
College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences - Doctoral Theses