How Office Pets Can Improve the Workplace

Dogs in the workplace aren't as new of a phenomenon as we tend to think. From fire department dogs to search and rescue dots go dogs in garages and auto shops, some industries have been dog-friendly for decades. However, dogs in office-based jobs have become a growing fixture in the past decade or so.

On any given day at Amazon's Seattle headquarters, employees share their workspace with as many as 7,000 dogs, and Google has its own dog campus, deemed the "Doogleplex." And so with companies like Amazon, Google, Etsy, Refinery 29, and Nestle leading the charge, more and more companies allow pets in their offices and/or implement a pet policy each year, with one study showing that as many as 17% of business owners have pet-friendly policies.

At Creatd, we also thrive on our pet-friendly culture. Our experience is that the various studies surrounding the benefits of dogs in the office are resoundingly true. Research and our own observations have shown that dogs promote interactions between staff, resulting in an improved social atmosphere, and also reduce the stress of owners, as well as the other employees in the office.

Benefits of Dogs in the Office

Having dogs in the office...

1. Attracts and Maintains Talent

On the employer/HR side, dog-friendly policies are a great way to attract and retain talent, especially among Millennials and Gen Z.

“That helps attract and retain potentially top talent within your organization, so there’s essentially a bringing them through the door and keeping them in house aspect to instituting one of these policies that the employer can see the increased benefit of having them.”

Edward Yost, manager of employee relations and development at the Society of Human Resource Management

2. Improves Employee Morale

Studies have shown that dogs can help alleviate stress, anxiety, depression, and isolation. This, in turn, decreases absenteeism, improves morale, and limits the potential for burnout. Individuals who work alone have also reported feeling less lonely.

And it’s not just long term contact with pets that matters. A study conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University found that even brief exposure to pets before a major medical procedure reduced fear by 37%. This means that pets just wandering in and out of an employee's office can make a difference in frustration and other negative emotions.

Furthermore, employees who are willing to stay late that can bring their pets with them are able to do so without having to stress about getting home to their fur babies, making them more willing to put in additional hours when needed. And the benefits to pet owners don't stop there. A study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University found employees who brought their dogs to work experienced lower stress levels, reported higher levels of job satisfaction, and had a more positive perception of their employer.

3. Encourages Collaboration

Studies have shown that pets increase collaboration in the workplace. In one experiment, researchers put together 12 groups of four and tasked each with developing a 15-second advertisement for a made up product. Some of the groups had a dog in their midst, while others did not.

After the exercise, questionnaires revealed that those groups with a dog on their side gave higher marks to their teammates when it came to trust, team cohesion, and intimacy, compared to teams without a dog, showing that the presence of an office dog has a measurable impact on how we perceive our peers at work, and can result in greater camaraderie and better collaboration.

4. Helps Employees That Can’t Afford Workday Care

There may be a variety of options for employees whose dogs are stuck home all day, but not everyone can afford them. Dog daycares costs anywhere from $240 to $550 per month, and professional dog walking can cost just as much.

5. Improves Brand Image

Having a dog-friendly culture has shown to improve customers' perceptions of a business, especially if you're hosting client meetings in your office. Having a furry friend there to meet and greet the client can improve their mood and relax them before a meeting, and can also make your company appear more progressive and forward-thinking to the client. This impact is even greater if the clients are pet owners themselves; A study by We’re All About Pets found that 87% of all pet owners surveyed mentioned that they’d prefer to do business with pet-friendly companies.

6. Increase Productivity and Creativity

When employees feel less stressed, healthier, and more communicative, they become more productive and creative. A 2016 study conducted by Banfield Pet Hospital found that 67% of employees who took their pets to work agreed that their pet made them more productive. This means that, despite the occasional distraction, pets in the office can help the whole office get more work done more quickly.

7. Improve Employee Health

While we've already discussed the mental health benefits, there are physical health improvements as well. Studies show that regular interactions with pets can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol, cortisol, and triglyceride, as well as increase activity.

Tips for an Office Pet Policy

While there are obviously a wide range of benefits to having a pet policy, actually having a policy is vital. Here are some tips for drafting and enforcing a policy:

1. Each Dog is Ultimately the Responsibility of Their Owner

Whether it’s cleaning up poop or making sure that their dog isn’t hungry and has enough water, a pet’s owner should be the one who is responsible. Make sure this is explicitly laid out in your pet policy, and that everyone understands the responsibilities that come with bringing their pet into the office.

Particularly if your office is open and dogs are allowed to roam freely, it's important employees keep tabs on their dog and make sure they aren't a disruption throughout the day.

For employees with multiple dogs, consider only allowing one dog per employee per day. There is a certain point at which caring for multiple dogs throughout the workday can do more harm than good to productivity.

2. Socialization Rules

There’s a good chance that if you allow for one dog, other employees will want to follow suit. However, there are some risks to having multiple dogs at the office at the same time. Some canines are overly aggressive to other dogs and within the context of your office, this could lead to conflicts and distractions. If you allow for more than one dog, make sure that both of your colleagues read up on how to socialize their pets.

It's also prudent to have a policy about the maximum number of dogs on a given day (perhaps have a pet calendar to avoid overlap) and a minimum amount of time the employee must own a dog before it visits the office, to ensure employees are familiar with how their dog will act around others beforehand.

3. Develop a List of Criteria for Dogs Being Allowed

This could include asking for vaccination status, having a minimum age (puppies are more likely to cause health and safety violations), only allowing housebroken dogs, or the above rules about socialization.

Obedience training of some sort (whether done at-home by the owner or formal training) should be required to reduce the possibility of a dog being distracting to the group. While the definition of “well-trained” will always be subjective, requiring office-candidate dogs to successfully pass the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test is one way to set a minimum behavior standard.

4. Consider Who Will be Responsible for Implementing the Policy

In some companies, this is the HR team. Others form specific groups for this purpose, such as a “dogs at work committee.” Regardless of who you choose, make sure there is a group that implements (and enforces when necessary) the policy.

5. Urge Employees to Think Carefully About Brining In Their Dog

Shy and anxious dogs might prefer the stability of staying home versus the sometimes unpredictable nature of the workplace. This is particularly true if a dog's anxiety is triggered by interactions with strangers. If a dog gets car sick, they might not appreciate starting and ending each day in the car. And dogs with conflicting temperaments may not appreciate one another, even if they generally are good-natured about it (an old Newfie who just wants to sleep on the floor all day may not appreciate spending day in and day out with a coworker's playful pup).

Some Cons to Keep in Mind

While we believe that the pros far outweigh the cons, there are some downsides you need to keep in mind when you decide to introduce an office pet policy.

1. Poop Happens

A healthy dog will urinate at least once every 8 to 12 hours and poop once a day. But this frequency can vary (and increase) depending on the canine’s diet. If you allow dogs at work, you will have to accept that there could be accidents in a common space. This is one of the many reasons it's so important to make sure each owner knows their dog is their responsibility.

2. It Can Get Distracting

Dogs can require a lot of attention, and sometimes when they don’t get enough of it, they can act out and cause a ruckus. And no matter how hard they try, no employee will have the time to constantly be attending to their dog’s needs—they will have meetings, projects, and general tasks. That means that some other coworkers may have to pick up the slack. Is your workplace willing to do this?

3. Potential Property Damage

Bringing a dog to a brand new environment comes with its own set of risks. Anxious dogs (or untrained dogs whose owners brought them anyways) can be destructive. And within the context of your workplace, that could very well mean property damage that’s costly and inconvenient.

On a less likely but also risk-related note, there is the possibility that a distressed dog could bite an employee, which is not only a health hazard but a liability issue.

4. Allergies

12% of Americans have some form of an allergy to dogs. While this is a minority of people, having a dog at work can be a significant inconvenience for them that will take away from their productivity and workplace happiness. Even if none of your current colleagues are allergic, having a dog-friendly workplace could potentially deter people with allergies from considering working for your company. It's therefore imperative to make sure you advertise to potential hires that you have a dog-friendly office, to make sure they can consider this in their decision.

Consider providing in-room air purifiers or checking to see if building maintenance uses, or can add, a HEPA filter to the central air and heating unit. Frequent vacuuming and the use of anti-allergen sprays, along with surface dusting with a damp cloth, can help reduce allergen levels in the environment. There are also various sprays and pet wipes designed to help neutralize allergies.

However, while the above efforts will work in the case of mild allergies, if an employee suffers from severe, disabling allergies, by law (and the law of human decency), they must be accommodated. In these cases, it might be more realistic to find other ways for interested staff members to celebrate their shared love of dogs.