A Cumbrian PR and marketing agency is the first in the county to sign up to The Migraine Trust’s Workplace Pledge.
One in seven people live with migraine and Whitehaven-based Platinum Live is leading the way in workplace support of employees with the condition.
The company signed the pledge after account executive Karen Martin, who lives with migraine, shared her experience of how the condition had previously affected her working life.
Karen said: “In the past, I’d had people say things like ‘well, you had a migraine attack last week and were fine to join the meeting, so why not this time?’.
“The workplace environment I’m in now is so different: there’s a willingness from my manager to learn about migraine and understand it better, which is so refreshing.”
Karen was diagnosed with migraine at seven years old. Growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when childhood migraine was little understood, she often missed out on events and felt isolated from her peers.
Entering the workplace, the challenges deepened. Long hours at a screen made jobs feel impossible, while managers rarely understood or supported her needs.
New research by The Migraine Trust highlights just how widespread the misunderstanding of migraine is.
Only 32% of people without migraine correctly identified it as a neurological condition, with 60% dismissing it as ‘just a bad headache’.
Less than two in five of those without migraine said they would believe someone who called in sick, logged off early, or couldn’t complete a big task because of migraine.
The Migraine Trust’s Workplace Pledge asks employers to commit to meaningful actions, from flexible working and quiet spaces to reviewing lighting and sharing resources, to create a culture where staff with migraine feel understood and supported.
Oliver Hodgson, managing director of Platinum Live, said, “For Karen, we introduced flexible working and the ability to work from home and that has made a big difference.
“We also made changes to the physical office environment, installing softer lighting and making sure there are quiet spaces.
“Supporting staff with migraine has benefits not only for that team member but for the organisation as a whole.
“I would encourage other employers to sign The Migraine Trust’s Workplace Pledge and to have discussions with your team about what they need.”
Worryingly, the Migraine Trust research found that 60% of managers said they would feel concerned about hiring a qualified candidate with migraine; a figure that rises to 83% at an executive level.
Rob Music, chief executive of The Migraine Trust, said: “It is sad to see just how deep migraine misunderstanding runs in our society and the very real consequences this is having on people with the condition.
“In the workplace, this can lead to people losing jobs, being overlooked for a promotion and trying to hide debilitating symptoms.
“Our recent research highlights the urgent need for employers to take migraine seriously. Platinum Live’s signing of The Migraine Trust’s Workplace Pledge is a fantastic example of an organisation taking steps to create a culture where staff living with migraine feel understood and supported.”
