I wonder how many of us sit at the desk in our serviced office or at our commercial property and wish that our favourite pet was with us. Apparently there’s quite a few.
According to one study carried out by Christopher Honts and his contemporaries at Central Michigan University, dogs in a serviced office can assist in improving output.
And according to a study conducted by the American Pet Products Manufacturers, 17 percent of Americans work at pet-friendly companies and 23 percent think pets must be approved of in the place of work.
The assessment also established that 70 million Americans think having pets in the office relieves stress. Along with this, 46 million believe having pets in the workplace makes for a more industrious work environment.
Since 1996, individuals have been celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day every June, with over 10,000 companies participating in the United States.
In Portland, Oregon, the local opera company has a resident cat named Nerissa. The Opera’s general director Christopher Mattaliano also allows dogs at work. ‘I feel a happy staff is a productive staff,’ says Mattaliano. Noelle Guest, the director’s executive assistant added,‘during stressful times here, I get people coming in from a different floor just to connect with [my pet]’ adds
Elsewhere in the States, Linda Goldstein Dunay, president of a marketing and public relations firm, is also a fan of pets in the place of work. ‘From the beginning, I wanted my company to feel like a community… I find that having dogs around, and allowing people to have their pets with them, is a big morale-booster’, she said.
Murray Low, director of The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Centre at Columbia Business School, adds that allowing employees to bring pets to work can be an inexpensive way to bolster productivity and reduce stress. ‘If the pet’s at work, it’s not as difficult for the employee to stay till 10 at night.’
On the other side of the coin, there are many that insist that having pets in the workplace will cause nothing but distraction and should be avoided like the plague.
Now, if I could just find a company that will allow me to bring my pet Hippopotamus to the serviced office, I’ll be happy.
