RESEARCH INSIGHTS

"What if they [colleagues] think I'm lazy and making excuses just because I'm on my period?"

Enthusiastic and ambitious women work hard towards their goals, and as any normal human would, struggle to perform to regular standards when they’re physically and mentally exhausted, especially when on their periods. Panic, fear and self-doubt creep in, leading them to do whatever it takes to push through the pain and discomfort. Usually, they start feeling better physically after their period ends, and as energy rises, they disregard resting and the cycle continues. 

Moreover, the female hormonal cycle is still extremely stigmatised in the workplace. Many women feel uncomfortable discussing their period at work, as they fear the negative repercussions (eg: being perceived as weak & incompetent; shaming etc.) of asking for rest or working differently when on their periods. 

DESIGN SOLUTION

"I don't know how I'm going to feel a week from now, so I try to push myself and finish as much as possible today."

Ta-Da! is a digital calendar integration tool that helps women turn their natural biorhythms into their greatest asset at work. It continuously analyses individual cycle data and factors that affect work productivity, communicating these insights through relatable personas and educating women on the strengths of each of their hormonal phases. By aligning work tasks with the hormonal phase best suited for the task, and promoting rest in addition to work, it empowers women to work in accordance with their bodies, encouraging restful productivity over mindless hustle culture. 

In this manner, Ta-Da! aims to achieve its mission of:

Learn - Empower women with a deep understanding of their unique hormonal cycle.

Act - Design tools to leverage hormonal ebbs and flows at the workplace and achieve professional goals. 

Sustain - Adopt a new way of working that promotes sustained well being at work instead of leading to burnout. 

IMPACT

"How we work has changed so much recently, I think this could very well be the new way of working for women."

Ta-Da!'s ultimate mission is to build equitable systems that encourage women to listen and work in accordance with their bodies. Ta-Da!, as a personalised tool, will be integrated in the DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity) benefits of the workplaces, while empowering workforces to be flexible and self-reliant. 

For women, in the short term, we hope to spark dialogue, making women’s internal monologues and conversations around hormonal health more empathetic. In the mid term, we believe sustained action will help women build resilience towards burnout, and in the longer run, this would lead to a culture of restful productivity, increasing women’s overall wellbeing. From a workplace's perspective, in the short term, we hope to see an increase in engagement with the topic of hormonal health. In the mid term, we hope for workplace culture to account for hormonal health in their decisions and integrate it within their systems and policies in the long run. 

Ta-Da!’s true impact will show up in women fostering healthier relationships with themselves and feeling entitled to rest without fear and guilt, resulting in a significant reduction in burnout. Ta-Da! ultimately hopes to enable workplaces to champion restful productivity, inspiring other societal shifts towards gender equity and wellbeing.