Are Pets In The Office Beneficial?
At first, the presence of pets in the office may seem strange. However, in recent years, this has become a trend due to the benefits it offers to the animal and the work environment.
Some of the most famous companies that have joined this initiative are Google, Mars, Cabify or Nestlé Purina. In fact, the latter is part of the Pets at Work Program , which aims to encourage employers and employees to work in a more “natural” way.
proven benefits
- Create healthier work environments, reducing stress and promoting the social integration of employees.
- Reconciliation between personal and professional life. In this case, both the owner and the pet are favored, so the pet owner can work with the guarantee that their pet will not be ‘unattended’.
- It improves the company’s image in relation to consumers, employees and competitors, and this practice is understood as a vision of the future.
- It facilitates the company’s motivation and dynamics, key factors in the business environment.
Possible difficulties regarding the presence of pets in the office
- Allergies. The most recommended is to establish a minimum distance of five meters between the animal and the allergic person or, if necessary, tie the dog to the owner’s table.
- Noise, lack of concentration. Before taking your pet to work, the owner must ensure that it behaves correctly. Animals must be able to socialize with other employees without changing business dynamics.
- Contamination . As in the previous section, owners are responsible for the hygiene of their pets, in addition to deworming and vaccination. When it comes to dirty urine or feces, good pre-training usually eliminates this problem.
- Respect restricted areas. Although a company can support the access of animals to its facilities, some areas for public use, such as restrooms, cafes, meeting rooms, etc. generally restrict your entry. Establishing pet friendly areas in advance and respecting the rules is increasingly helping companies to incorporate this initiative.
what does the data say
Although there are still some critics, both at the management level and among employees themselves, who claim that animals contribute to distraction at work, the truth is that more than one study shows the advantages of this practice. Among them, we can highlight:
- The Central Michigan Universal analyzed in 2010 as the presence of pets in the office promoted the link between employees and improved the atmosphere in the workplace.
- The Virginia Commonwealth University found how stress of the workers who had taken their pets to work was reduced by 11% compared to the increase in 70% of other staff.
According to these statistics, it appears that incorporating animals into new contexts can be both attractive and beneficial. Society is used to the image of police dogs and guide dogs because of the advantages they represent, yet their previously questioned access to cafes, transportation and even offices has become a reality.
