Menstrual leave, which allows workers to take time off due to their periods, is not a particularly new concept. Russia had a history of offering it in the 1920s, while Japan introduced it into labor law in 1947. Other Asian countries, like South Korea and Indonesia, also enacted similar policies of period leave in the 1950s. More recently, Spain enacted menstrual leave in 2023, and other countries are in the process of adopting a national policy.The U.S. on the other hand, has no formal period leave, and very few U.S. companies have enacted it. Two exceptions are FreeFrom, a grassroots company that helps domestic survivors build financial security, and Chani, an astrology company and app. (Both share a CEO, Sonya Passi.)So why arent more U.S. companies offering this benefit? And for those that door are considering such an optionwhat does the policy look like in practice?We are all taught to normalize, disassociate from, and push through pain, says Passi. By calling out menstrual leave, were saying to our employees that we recognize this pain and dont expect you to work through it. Passi implemented the practice at FreeForm (and later at Chani) in 2020, after a new employee told her about the concept as it related to her work in South Korea. When she explained it to me, it made all the sense in the world and I asked for her help creating the policy. We implemented it a week later, says Passi.While menstrual leave is seen as both a practical, supportive offering for workers who experience period pain and a way for companies to signal their values, there is also the criticism that by offering this type of leave, companies are saying that workers who get periodspredominantly womenhave diminished returns during their cycle. And thatsan image that can possibly have harmful effects.Menstrual leave is a total double-edged sword, says Nadya Okamoto, cofounder of August, a period care brand and author of Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement. It allows people to take the time off that they needespecially if they have period pain, endometriosis, uterine fibroids. Its needed, but on the other side, when you have blanket period leave, in addition to patriarchal stigma that thinks of periods as a weakness, the cons are that women are less likely to get promoted. Theres an assumption that theyre actually only working 75% of the month because they have this automatic period leave. And weve seen time and time again that it actually really stunts the accelerated success of women in the workplace.Okamotos company has seven employees and doesnt offer menstrual leave, but does allow for unlimited paid time off. Employees let each other know via Slack or email if they need to lie down for a bit or take the day, though Okamoto notes that obviously any leavewhether period leave or PTOgets much more complex when youre on a team of hundreds or thousands of people.Also, working for a period care company generally means you (and your employer) are okay with talking about periods. And on a small team, theres a level of trust with time off that big, corporate giants may not have, since your impact is very visible. I think it really comes down to how we value work and how we value women, which is a bigger issue, says Okamoto.Other menstrual companies, like Cora, also offer unlimited vacation and remote work, instead of menstrual leave. Our fully remote setup provides even more flexibility, allowing employees to manage their period symptoms comfortably from home, says Dana Cohen, chief marketing officer of Cora. We strive to normalize conversations about periods. We want employees to feel as comfortable as possible to share Im having terrible cramps today. Additionally, we provide free Cora products to our employees each month to ensure they have access to quality period care.But what about at other companies, especially those not centered around periods? Many are still figuring out the possibility of menstrual leave in the workplace. Tori Dunlap of HerFirst100K, a financial and career platform, offers unlimited PTO to employees, but is looking into naming and giving menstrual or period leave, as a way to encourage the team to take off when they need for their period pains. People dont need a permission slip to take off work, but I think unfortunately in America, sometimes people need the permission slip to take off work, says Dunlap. There is, for instance, data that suggests employees at companies that offer unlimited PTO take fewer days off than those at companies with set PTO policies.[Employees with menstrual leave can say] oh, okay, Im good. Its okay, I can take rest, says Dunlap, who is currently planning to roll out this provision, but is still finalizing the details with HR. Again, unlimited PTO can carry a lot of stuff within it, but youre signifying theres a reason that its menstrual leave and that its separate from something like unlimited PTO.Having a uterus, and dealing with the cyclical pain associated with having a uterus, is not sickness and should not deplete your sick days, says Passi. For Passi, whose companies offer both unlimited vacation and unlimited menstrual leave, staffers can take the time they need to deal with their healthand disclose as much or as little as they want. Making it unlimited takes away any administrative burden on the employee or their supervisor to track this time, says Passi. She notes that in practice, folks end up taking no more than one half or one full day a month, emphasizing that this applies to those who call it out. The important part is that it does not apply to your sick days, she says.Using sick days and the idea of making it okay to take off during your period brings up another related issue: A lot of menstrual leave is based around pain, and those pains can often be attributed to health problems that have often been historically overlooked, underdiagnosed, and downplayed, such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and endometriosis.Tory Eisenlohr-Moul, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and an academic clinical scientist studying premenstrual disorders and reproductive mental health. She directs an NIH-funded clinical trials lab, where she works with menstruators to understand menstruation and body-mind connection, and is also a licensed clinical psychologist with a focus on premenstrual disorders. While she says the majority of women dont experience severe symptoms related to their menstrual cycle, for the subset that do, it can be really debilitating. I think of [period leave] more as something that could be important for someone who has either really severe physical or emotional symptoms, Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul says, noting that shed be interested to see if it could be used as a disability accommodation overall. (She and Okamoto note that PCOS and PMDD, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder, are covered by the American for Disabilities Act.) Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul also notes that most emotional and psychiatric disorders associated with ones cycle, like PMDD, actually tend to get better during ones period, and its the time leading up to it that has more severe symptoms.Another issue that menstrual leave brings up in practice is that, according to most state labor laws, employers are not allowed to inquire about the use of sick days. That means you can just say youre sick and dont have to provide a detailed medical explanation. With menstrual leave, having to disclose that you are on your period could get complicatedparticularly for those with menstrual-related disabilities or for those who are transgender. That being said, most experts agree that youd just have to cite menstrual leave, not provide a full-blown breakdown of whats going on, or why you need to use it.As both Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul and Okamato note, one benefit of menstrual leave is the educational component of what it means to deal with a uterus and period painand thats where the framing of leave comes into play. As Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul says, it can be positive for a company to explicitly acknowledge that it cares about workers physical and mental health, and recognize that there can be pain, or changes in function, for some during ones menstrual cycle. The other framing of we know you have changes in your ability during this time, wouldand shouldraise red flags, she says. (To that point, Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul suggests calling it cycle leave or some other iteration. Okamato prefers period leave.)Okamato agrees with Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul on not framing leave as something abilities-based, and instead focusing on educating all employees. We are literally coming off of centuries of conditioning to think that a cramp is just a cramp. Most people dont even know what endometriosis is, or uterine fibroids, or anything like that, says Okamato. She notes that period leave can be seen as a form of educationthe same sort of education that an employee might get from a companys DEI efforts or mental health policies.There could be an element of educating on your bodily health, and how do you develop a sense of where is my level of pain and at what point can I take time off?Were far from seeing this regularly included in company benefits, but with more nations adopting the practice, and more people understanding what period leave is and how it works, we could see more companies adopt policies. What I find really exciting about menstrual leave and the conversation around it is that its also a gateway conversation, says Okamato. Its so directly linked to so many other conversations around reproductive health in the workplace, which is also very much a hot-button subject. Whether it be maternity leave, family planning, abortion, supporting people in reproductive health, its not just period leave.

In the opening episode of the hit series Suits, Mike Ross bluffs his way into Harvey Specters office, then lands a job as an associate in a prestigious law firm despite never graduating from law school or officially passing the bar.The ruthless Specter cant help being impressed by Rosss brazenness.Brazen is one way to describe Specters future protege.Another might be audacious.Also:bold, brash, insolent, cocky, shameless, cheeky, spunky, or unabashed.But there is one word that includes all of these, and more.Which makes it a fitting choice for the current entry into the Ethical Lexicon:Chutzpah (chutzpah/hootsp) nounConfidence or courage bordering on arrogance, roughly equivalent to nerveThe origin of the word is not classical Hebrew but ancient Aramaic, a pidgin hybrid that evolved when Jews exiled from Israel to Babylonian blended local speech with the language of their homeland.Appearing in rabbinic literature, the root word means to peel, strip away, or lay bare.Hence the adopted Yiddish connotation of barefaced, undisguised impudence.But is it necessarily a bad thing?Six hundred years ago, an unknown German-Jewish philosopher published The Ways of the Righteous, a work now revered as an essential guide to personal development.The author proposes that there are no good or bad character traits; rather, every element of our personalities can be utilized productively or destructively.Applying practical wisdom, we can harness our natural temperament and channel our behavior in our own best interest.Consider a sledgehammer versus a feather duster: both are useful tools.The former may be indispensable for demolition but good for not much else; if used irresponsibly, it will cause enormous damage.The latter is much more difficult to misuse, but you wont want to insert it under the hood of your car with the engine running.The same model applies to character traits.Kindness has far more positive applications than ruthlessness, but misdirected kindness can enable self-destructive behavior, and dispassionate sternness may be necessary to enforce accountability.Similarly, although chutzpah is generally associated with arrogance, insolence, and disrespect, it can also describe the unapologetic straightforwardness occasionally needed to break through gridlock and get the job done.Case in point: One of the most audacious endeavors in military history was Hannibals crossing of the Alps to attack the Roman Empire within its borders. Embarking on what seemed an impossible campaign, the Carthaginian general led a contingent of 70,000 men, 20,000 horses, and 37 elephants on a 1,500-mile-long trek, overcoming treacherous terrain, bitter cold, and tribal chieftains along the way.His chutzpah paid off, culminating in a series of successful engagements against the Roman army (although he never received the reinforcements he needed to capture the capital of Rome and claim ultimate victory).In business, its hard to find a more compelling example of chutzpah than Elon Musk.Love him or hate him, his accomplishments with Tesla and SpaceX prove that refusing to bow to conventional wisdom can pay off with stratospheric success.The value of chutzpah is canonized in ancient teachings.Not long after Hannibal led his expedition over the Alps, the Jewish sage Judah ben Teima taught: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion to fulfill the purpose for which you were created.Once upon a time, a culture that counted modesty among the highest virtues regarded the spotted leopard as the exemplar of brazenness.This is a far cry, however, from the exhibitionism and frantic attention-seeking that has become the norm in our era of social media and self-promotion.Rather, its a boldness that emerges naturally from devotion to core values and a sense of inspired purpose.Being bold, however, is easier said than done.We give lip service to the adage that there are no bad ideas.But the fear of looking foolishwhether in the eyes of our colleagues or the bossbrings the weight of self-censorship fully to bear. Its better to keep silent, is it not, than offer a proposal that might elicit a smirk, an eye-roll, a snort, or full-blown ridicule?Yet how many bright ideas never see the light of day because we suppress them fearing disapproval?Netflix founder Marc Randolph turns the adage on its head when he asserts that there are no good ideas. With the single exception of Mozart, the most celebrated composers all worked through countless revisions to produce their masterpieces, as have the most brilliant novelists, poets, scientists, and inventors.Genius does not burst into the world fully formed. It gradually takes shape over time through trial and error, through slow polish and refinement, ideally through consultation and collaboration.The worst idea may ultimately prove to be the best idea.But that only happens when we have the chutzpah to throw it out on the table and, by doing so, give it the chance to succeed.