Nearly two‑thirds of Canadian women aged 35 to 55 say menopause symptoms affect their job performance, while more than half report that the time spent seeking care disrupts their work, according to a new survey by GreenShield Canada.

The survey, which polled more than 1,000 women, found only 13 per cent said their employer provides adequate hormonal health or menopause benefits. Notably, this percentage increases among women working in education (15 per cent) and childcare (24 per cent), sectors in which women make up the majority of the workforce.

Read: Workplace design impacting employers’ retention of women experiencing menopause: report

A third (33 per cent) said they waited more than two years after first noticing symptoms to receive effective treatment, while nearly half (46 per cent) waited at least one year. Nearly 40 per cent said they didn’t know where to seek menopause or hormonal health care, while more than a quarter (26 per cent) didn’t initially recognize their symptoms as part of a hormonal transition.

While half of women said they’ve experienced symptoms they associate with perimenopause or menopause, fewer than half (48 per cent) have discussed their symptoms with a health-care professional.

Read: Menopause symptoms driving women out of the workforce, costing employers billions: report