4 perimenopause symptoms that can impact your work performance

Perimenopause doesn’t clock out when you head to the office. It’s there, quietly tinkering with your focus, energy, and mood (often without anyone noticing). The symptoms are real, and they can be disruptive, yet they’re rarely acknowledged in the workplace.

This isn’t about “just getting on with it”. It’s about understanding how hormonal shifts can affect your ability to concentrate, stay sharp, and feel like yourself at work. Let’s unpack some of the less visible (but no less powerful) ways perimenopause shows up from 9 to 5.

Brain fog: when your mind goes missing mid-sentence

Ever stared at your screen like it’s written in a foreign language? Walked into a meeting and completely blanked on what you were supposed to say? That’s brain fog, one of perimenopause’s most maddening guests.

At work, it can show up like this:

• Memory lapses: Forgetting key details from something you just read, blanking on names, or misplacing documents that were in your hand five minutes ago.
• Concentration struggles: Tasks that used to be second nature now feel like a mental marathon.
• Word-finding fails: That pause mid-sentence while you fish around for a perfectly ordinary word.
• Slower thinking: Quick decisions and clever comebacks may take a bit longer to surface.

It’s not that you’ve lost your edge, it’s that your brain has temporarily decided to work in low-power mode. And when that happens day after day, it can chip away at your confidence.

Fatigue: not just tired, tired-tired

We’re not talking about the usual “I didn’t sleep well” kind of tired. This is bone-deep, can’t-think-straight, why-does-sitting-up-feel-hard tired.

Thanks to hormone fluctuations (and the sleep issues they often bring), perimenopausal fatigue can make even a standard workday feel like a triathlon.

What it can look like on the job:

• Afternoon slumps: That post-lunch crash hits harder, and you’re counting the minutes till 5pm.
• Reduced stamina: Back-to-back meetings? Not today.
• More mistakes: When your brain’s running on empty, typos, missed steps and forgotten tasks creep in.
• Motivation dips: Things you used to tackle with ease now feel… exhausting.

No amount of coffee touches this kind of fatigue, and the worst part? It’s invisible. You’re still showing up, but it can feel like you’re operating at half your usual capacity.

Hot flashes: turning up the heat (literally)

Ah, the infamous hot flash. Sudden, overwhelming heat that can strike at the worst possible moment, like right in the middle of a presentation. Imagine a sudden, intense wave of heat engulfing you during a critical client pitch, leaving you visibly sweating through your professional attire.

In a work setting, hot flashes might:

• Disrupt your focus: It’s hard to concentrate when your body feels like it’s combusting from the inside.
• Make you self-conscious: Sweat patches and flushed cheeks aren’t ideal in a boardroom. They make you feel self-conscious and concerned about how you’re perceived, especially in formal environments.
• Force you to step out: You might need a moment to cool down (physically and mentally).

They’re completely normal, but that doesn’t make them any less awkward when you’re trying to look composed and in control.

Mood swings: when emotions don’t behave

Hormonal shifts can play havoc with your emotions, and that doesn’t stop at the office door. One minute you’re fine, the next you’re blinking back tears at a passive-aggressive email.

Perimenopause can bring:

• Irritability: Small annoyances suddenly feel massive.
• Anxiety: That pre-meeting nervousness can tip into full-blown panic.
• Emotional overreactions: Feedback might hit harder than usual.
• Stress sensitivity: Everyday challenges feel overwhelming.

It’s not that you’re being “too sensitive.” Your nervous system is literally being rewired, and you’re doing your best to keep it together in a world that rarely acknowledges what’s going on under the surface. These invisible emotional shifts can silently impact your interpersonal relationships at work, affect your decision-making under pressure, and lead to a feeling of being “not quite yourself,” making work feel like an ongoing battle.

At The Peri HQ, we believe it’s time to stop pretending everything’s fine when it’s not, and start talking honestly about how perimenopause shows up at work. Not to complain, but to be better understood. If you’re navigating this yourself (or want to help your workplace do better) our free guide to perimenopause at work is a good place to start.

And if the symptoms are starting to feel unmanageable, you don’t have to push through alone. A chat with a doctor or menopause-informed healthcare professional can make a real difference. Support and treatment options do exist, even if they’re not always widely talked about.