I don’t think I could work without pets at my side. Fortunately, I’m a veterinarian, and when I’m not practicing at North Idaho Animal Hospital, I’m working in my home office surrounded by my pets. I know not everyone’s that lucky, which is why I’m grateful for holidays like Take Your Dog to Work Day, which is tomorrow, June 23, and companies that let their employees bring pets to work every day of the year.
Last year I spent this amazing day at Purina headquarters, working with them to develop some educational content for pet owners. Although Purina allows pets in the workplace every day, they still managed to make this day special for their team members and for me.
This year, Purina did some research into the issue of pets in the workplace, and in celebration of National Take Your Dog to Work Day, they released the infographic below. In their Pets at Work report, they wrote, “Research has found that employees who bring their pets to work tend to have lower stress levels by the end of the day, and that their pet can help reduce blood pressure, decrease loneliness, help lower cholesterol levels and encourage physical activity.
The survey also found that “pet-friendly work environments are viewed as both exciting and innovative, and even discovered that more than half of dog owners in pet-friendly workplaces bring their dog to work at least once a week in addition to lunch meetings, work parties and meetings with their boss. Furthermore, the survey showed that employees at pet-friendly organizations ranked having pets at work second in terms of most valuable work benefits – ranking higher than free coffee and parking.”
And there’s more:
- 63 percent of employees in pet-friendly workplaces indicated they are “very satisfied” with their work environment – and this is nearly twice as many as those in workplaces where pets are not allowed
- Eight in ten people in pet-friendly workplaces also say that having a pet at work would make them feel more happy, relaxed and sociable
- 65 percent of employees at pet-friendly workplaces say that it is important to them that a potential employer allows pets
- 19 percent of cat owners in pet-friendly workplaces bring their cat to work daily; 20 percent of dog owners bring their dog daily
- One in three people in non-pet- friendly workplaces wish they could bring their pet to work
Do you get to share your work day with pets? Would you like to?
Disclaimer: While this is not a sponsored post, I am currently working with Purina on a number of educational projects.
