A Ferring Pharmaceuticals survey has found 39% of people undergoing fertility treatment are at least considering leaving their jobs, leading the drugmaker to question whether companies are doing enough to support employees.
Ferring funded the survey and worked with Fertility Matters at Work and This Can Happen, groups that offer workplace support, on the project. Having initially targeted the U.K., the survey expanded to include Australia, France, Japan and Poland and to cover more than 3,600 employees and employers. The goal was to explore how fertility challenges affect people at work and what employers can offer.
Two-thirds of respondents who have faced fertility challenges said their workplaces don’t offer support for employees undergoing fertility treatment. Support is rarest in France, where 88% of respondents said their employers lacked initiatives to help workers receiving fertility treatment.
The survey found 60% of respondents lacked clear entitlement to time off for fertility appointments. The situation led people undergoing fertility treatment to record time off for appointments as paid, unpaid or annual leave. Almost 20% of respondents said the lack of flexibility led them to take sick leave.
The presence or absence of support is informing decisions about where to work. Beyond finding that 39% of people undergoing fertility treatment are leaving or considering quitting their jobs, the survey revealed widespread interest in roles that provide fertility support. Almost three-quarters of people who are experiencing fertility challenges would be attracted to roles that provide support.
While 75% of employers said they recognize fertility treatment as a significant life event, only 27% of employees who have experienced fertility challenges agree. More than 20% of employees said they feel unsupported, and 36% have felt pressure from their employer to work while undergoing treatment or investigations. Mental well-being is a particular concern for people undergoing fertility treatment.
Signs suggest uptake of fertility treatment could increase. Babies conceived using assisted reproductive technology accounted for 2.6% of births in the U.S. in 2022. The figure rises to around 10% in Denmark and 12% in Spain. President Donald Trump acted to increase access to fertility care in the U.S. in October, including by inking a drug pricing deal with Merck KGaA's EMD Serono.
Like EMD Serono, Ferring sells fertility drugs. Ferring’s portfolio includes the recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone Rekovelle, which competes with drugs including the Gonal-f product covered by Trump’s deal with EMD Serono.