New research: Working adults understand hormonal health but rarely recognize it in themselves

Carrot’s fifth annual hormonal health report, The Hormonal Health Gap, finds that most working adults already understand how hormonal changes affect metabolic health. Far fewer connect that understanding to their own fatigue and poor sleep, which they more often attribute to stress or aging.

The report draws on an Ipsos survey of 2,000 employed, insured U.S. adults ages 35-64 (964 women and 1,036 men), fielded in September 2026. Our previous reports in 2024 and 2025 focused on menopause, but this is the first Carrot hormonal health report to include men.

Key survey findings include:

• While 78% of women and 86% of men see a connection between hormonal and metabolic health, only 41% of women and 37% of men link their own symptoms to hormonal changes.
• 52% of women and 64% of men ages 35-44 blame stress for their symptoms. By ages 55-64, 46% of women and 67% of men blame normal aging.
• 57% of women and 60% of men said they’d made or considered a work-related change because of hormonal symptoms, from taking time off to leaving the workforce entirely.
• Only 45% of women and 56% of men feel supported by their employer in managing hormonal symptoms. When support is present, 78% of women and 82% of men view their employer more positively.

For employers and plan sponsors, the starting point is self-recognition. Employees already know that hormonal and metabolic health are connected. They just don’t see it in themselves. The fatigue, stress, and poor sleep that may have a hormonal component result in unintended consequences at work. The workplace is where both women and men can be reached at scale during the decades these hormonal transitions happen.

Menopause alone is estimated to cost $1.8 billion per year in lost workdays. Earlier support and recognition also matter for long-term health spend, since the metabolic risks that come with hormonal transitions are closely linked to heart disease and diabetes. Investment in hormonal health keeps experienced, mid-career leaders working longer and performing at their best, and the returns compound.

Request the full report.