Taking pet dogs to work can ease stress levels and make the job more satisfying for other workers, according to a recent study. Researchers in the US found those with access to dogs were less stressed as the day progressed than those individuals who had none.
The pilot study published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management looked at 75 staff in total.
The researchers suggested access to dogs’ improved morale and reduced stress levels, whether people had access to their own four-legged friend or other people’s.
The study was carried out by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University who looked at a manufacturing commercial property company where people are permitted to bring their pets to work.
They compared those individuals who brought in their own pets, with those who had dogs-yet left them at home-and staff who did not own animals.
Over a week, the researchers compared workers’ job satisfaction, stress levels and feelings about support from and commitment to the commercial property company.
Stress hormone levels were measured using saliva samples throughout the day. In the morning, there was no change among the three groups.
However during the course of the working day, stress levels seemed to decline for those workers with their dogs present and increased for dog owners who did not bring their canines to work and non-pet owners.
The researchers also noted that stress rose considerably throughout the day when owners left their dogs at home compared to those days they brought them to work.
Professor of Management and Lead Study Author at the VCU School of Business, Randolph Barker said dogs can make a positive change in the workplace. He said: “The difference in perceived stress between says the dog was present and absent were significant.
“The employees as a whole had higher job satisfaction than industry norms.”
Professor Barker said having dogs around the workplace could contribute to employee performance and fulfilment. He reported encouraging comments from workers such as “pets in the workplace can be a great bonus for employee morale”, “dogs are positive; dogs increase co-worker cooperation” and “having dogs here is great stress relief.”
Earlier research has revealed that stress can contribute to employee absenteeism and poor health. It can also cause significant loss of productivity.
Spokeswoman at pet charity Blue Cross, Louise Lee said they have always supported the benefits of dogs in the workplace. She said: “We encourage our employees to bring in their well-behaved dogs where practical and we have seen similar results to the survey-a more enjoyable working environment, staff more likely to take regular breaks and a reduction in stress through stroking and petting dogs during the working day.”
She further added: “The dogs themselves are also much happier as they are not being left at home for long periods of time.”
