How to reduce absenteeism through women’s health benefits

Absenteeism drains productivity, disrupts workflows, and costs employers millions every year.

For women, health-related absences often stem from conditions that remain underdiagnosed, undertreated, or unsupported by traditional benefit plans. 

Understanding the cost of absenteeism and women’s health

Pelvic floor dysfunction, menopause symptoms, and maternal health issues are chief among them. Employers must go beyond offering broad wellness programs to reduce absenteeism effectively. Women in the workplace need targeted, accessible, and stigma-free support where it's needed most.

This guide explains how women’s health directly impacts absenteeism and presenteeism, why conventional benefits often fall short, and what high-impact employers are doing to improve outcomes. We’ll explore how digital programs like Bloom by Sword Health reduce absence, improve productivity, and support women throughout every life stage.

Why women’s health benefits matter more than ever

Women’s health conditions are one of the most overlooked drivers of absenteeism and productivity loss in today’s workforce¹. From pelvic floor disorders to menopause symptoms, these issues often remain unspoken, even as they quietly impact performance, morale, and retention.

Ignoring these health realities is both unfair and expensive. When women don’t get the care they need, symptoms escalate, mental health suffers, and absences increase². Yet traditional benefits packages rarely include effective, accessible solutions for women’s most common, most disruptive health concerns³.

That’s where digital women’s health benefits, like Bloom by Sword Health, offer a powerful advantage. Bloom’s pelvic health care closes critical treatment gaps, improves daily functioning, and helps women stay engaged and present at work² in a way that respects privacy, flexibility, and real-world schedules. Let’s explore how pelvic health challenges drive absenteeism and what employers can do to solve the problem at scale.

The hidden toll of untreated pelvic health issues

PFD affects one in three women across their lifetime and 40–50% of postmenopausal women⁴ ⁵. These conditions include urinary incontinence, prolapse, pelvic pain, and other symptoms that make it difficult to sit comfortably, move with ease, or get through a meeting without distraction.

These symptoms aren’t just medical. They’re professional and personal. Many women report skipping exercise, declining social invitations, and even missing work due to pelvic health issues⁶. Common symptoms that disrupt work include:

• Bladder leakage, which causes embarrassment and frequent bathroom trips
• Pelvic or back pain, which makes sitting, lifting, or walking uncomfortable
• Fatigue from poor sleep linked to menopause or chronic discomfort²
• Reduced confidence or focus from pain and anxiety⁷

The impact adds up as unmanaged pelvic health issues contribute to absenteeism, presenteeism, and even turnover. Employers pay the price through both direct medical spend and indirect productivity loss⁶.

Why women miss work: the overlooked drivers

Women’s absenteeism isn’t random. It’s often tied to recurring or chronic health issues that receive little attention in the benefits mix:

• Pelvic floor dysfunction: Affects up to one in three women⁴ and often goes untreated due to stigma or access barriers.
• Menopause symptoms: Over 80% of women experience symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and cognitive changes⁸, yet only a fraction receive structured workplace support.
• Maternal health and postpartum recovery: Many women face complications, pain, or pelvic dysfunction after childbirth but lack structured, employer-supported recovery options.

When these issues go unaddressed, absenteeism becomes inevitable. Employers lose an estimated $2,916 per member per year in productivity related to untreated MSK and pelvic health conditions⁹.

The silent cost of presenteeism and performance

Even when women don’t call out sick, unmanaged health conditions impact focus, energy, and performance. Known as presenteeism, this invisible drain can quietly erode productivity.

• Women with untreated UI are more likely to experience distraction, discomfort, and reduced engagement at work².
• Mental health impacts like anxiety and depression are 3.6 times more likely in women with pelvic floor disorders¹⁰.

These issues affect performance across roles, from frontline staff to senior leaders¹⁰.

The failure of traditional care pathways

Too many women who struggle with health issues tied to the pelvic floor or hormonal changes delay or avoid seeking care altogether. Not because they don’t want to feel better, but because care is often inconvenient, invasive, or inaccessible³. For many, the idea of sitting in a waiting room to discuss bladder leaks or pelvic pain feels uncomfortable. 

Scheduling an appointment can even become a logistical challenge. Many face 12+ weeks to see a specialist³. This means taking time off work, finding childcare, and mustering the courage to explain deeply personal symptoms to a stranger in a clinical setting. For women balancing jobs, families, and responsibilities, those barriers become reasons to avoid seeking treatment. This results in prolonged symptoms, rising costs, and a cycle of missed days, low energy, and reduced performance⁶.

Why women don’t get timely treatment for pelvic health concerns

1. Access barriers: In-person pelvic health specialists are few and far between, especially outside urban centers.
2. Stigma: Many women feel ashamed to discuss issues like incontinence or prolapse.
3. Time constraints: Taking off work for frequent appointments isn’t realistic for caregivers, shift workers, or busy professionals.
4. Long wait times: It can take weeks or months to see a specialist, delaying treatment and prolonging symptoms.

As a result, many women give up. They normalize the symptoms. They suffer in silence. And their performance at work takes a hit. Smart, proactive benefits plans can offer specific women's health care and cost-effective support with an option like Bloom.

Existing women’s health benefits fall short

Many employers offer some version of women’s health coverage in the form of annual exams, access to OB-GYNs, or general wellness support. Specific pelvic health or menopause support is a different story, with care options often fragmented, reactive, or missing entirely.

• Pelvic floor therapy is rarely accessible through employer-sponsored plans. Wait times can stretch over 12 weeks⁶, and in-person appointments create scheduling and privacy challenges.
• Menopause support is rarely included in structured care programs, leaving women to navigate symptoms alone.

The result is a perfect storm of missed opportunities: low engagement with care, delays in getting support, and ultimately, rising costs for both individuals and employers⁶.

When women don't access the care they need, small issues escalate into major disruptions. These gaps undermine individual health and translate into missed days, higher healthcare claims, and a workplace that fails to support half its talent.

It doesn’t have to be this way. With a digital alternative like Bloom, care is easier to access, more private, and more attuned to real life. Women engage earlier and stick with treatment longer. That’s when outcomes improve and costs come down.

Absenteeism is a leadership issue

Absenteeism affects productivity, talent strategy, retention, and workplace culture¹¹.

• Women leave roles or avoid advancement opportunities when health support isn’t there.
• Mid-career women (ages 35–55) face the highest rates of workplace exit tied to health issues, especially in senior or leadership tracks.
• Talent gaps grow when experienced women leave or reduce hours due to preventable conditions.

High-performing employers understand this and turn towards specific women's health treatment options. This investment is outcomes-focused, surpassing the consideration behind more generic wellness benefits. By embedding targeted care into a benefits offering, employers can expect to retain and empower top talent who are actively seeking specific coverage and support.

How Bloom reduces absenteeism and presenteeism

Bloom by Sword Health is a digital-first pelvic health program that addresses one of the most common and most overlooked drivers of women’s absenteeism: pelvic floor dysfunction.

What is Bloom’s revolutionary digital pelvic care?

Pelvic floor disorders, such as urinary incontinence or chronic pelvic pain, often require targeted therapy. Yet traditional models make care hard to access. Long waitlists, time-consuming appointments, and stigma around these symptoms prevent many women from seeking support. 

Bloom eliminates those barriers with a modern solution: virtual, personalized pelvic health care that meets women where they are.

• A clinically validated pelvic health solution
• Delivered virtually, with no need for in-person appointments
• Combines biofeedback tools, real-time coaching, and education
• Pairs members with a dedicated pelvic health clinician

By removing logistical and psychological roadblocks, Bloom helps women engage in care earlier and more consistently by improving both personal health and workplace outcomes.

How Bloom supports work attendance and focus

Pelvic health symptoms often pull women away from work. Sometimes this is seen through sick days, but often the signs are less visible as women silently suffer through constant discomfort, disrupted focus, and chronic pain. Bloom helps address pelvic floor dysfunction head-on:

• Convenient access: 50% of sessions happen outside work hours; 22% on weekends¹².
• Reduced symptoms: Significant decreases in UI and pelvic pain¹³.
• Better engagement: 77.6% program completion rate; 8.6/10 satisfaction¹³.

This approach makes care easier to begin and easier to complete. That means more consistent treatment, better results, and fewer lost workdays.

Employers and health plans get proven outcomes for improved women’s health among their member population. Sword’s outcome-based pricing also means guaranteed return on investment as payments are tied to each individual’s health goals.

Bloom’s results speak for themselves 

• 8.6/10 satisfaction score⁷
• 76.1% reduction in anxiety symptoms
• 54.1% drop in depression
• $3,177 annual savings per member
• Productivity gains of ~50% after nine sessions¹³

Build a specific women’s health benefits offering

Forward-thinking companies are implementing Bloom to:

• Reduce short-term disability and sick leave claims
• Increase focus and energy among women employees
• Build a more inclusive and supportive work culture

By offering discreet and digital care options, employers close care gaps that traditional models fail to address. Reducing absenteeism starts with solving the right problems. For women, that means: normalizing pelvic health, offering specific support for women in the phases of pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and post-menopause.

For health plans and employers, offering Bloom is simple. It integrates into existing health plans and employee benefits platforms. Sword Health partners with employers and payers to:

• Evaluate population needs
• Set up digital onboarding and communications
• Provide real-time reporting and outcomes tracking
• Offer support from Pelvic Health Specialists, (each holding a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree)

You don’t need to overhaul your entire benefits plan. Just add a solution that meets a critical need and does it better than the status quo.

Now is the time to act and start offering pelvic health benefits

The workforce is changing. Women over 45 are the fastest-growing labor segment and they’re looking for employers who understand and support their health needs.

Pelvic health is no longer a fringe topic, it’s a workplace issue that significantly impacts productivity. Adding digital pelvic health care to your benefits strategy helps your people live healthier, work better, and stay pain-free for longer. That’s the kind of care that pays for itself.