Lots of people around the world own pets. In many cases, pets tend to be dogs or cats. If you are a pet owner, there is a probability that your schedule involves you waking up in the morning, going through your normal morning routines, and then leaving for work.
Your beloved companion gets to remain at home as they await your return in the evening. Generally, this is the life of many pet owners. But then again, what if you had a community for pet lovers in your office that allowed you to bring the pet to work with you?
Some employers and employees have noticed the benefits associated with pet ownership, and how the pets spend most of their time at home, all alone. As a way of increasing employee engagement and satisfaction, many firms have introduced a new concept known as the bring your pet to work day.
As you look forward to marking the take your dog to work day on June 21st, consider the following benefits associated with bringing your pet to work:
1. Pets Help Reduce Stress
Pet ownership has been seen to assist in reducing depression, improving mood levels, reducing anxiety, and lowering blood pressure. The same factors apply to pets in the workplace.
Researchers working at the Virginia Commonwealth University established that employees who were allowed to bring their pets to work often displayed very low-stress levels. On the other hand, those without pets had the highest stress levels.
2. Pets Can Help Improve Employee Relations
As much as the Human Resources department would like everyone in the company to get along, the truth is that this rarely happens. Some people will always have issues working with others.
Bring a pet to pet-friendly workplaces can help people form connections much more easily. Individuals who may have had conflicts in the past may easily start to bond over their pets, pet care, and pet ownership.
Pets also make it easier to break the ice and assist in generating a bond that would otherwise have been hard to forge. Pet owners have also been equated to moms in a school playground, they will always talk to each other, even when they do not personally know the other person’s names.
3. Pets Can Help Boost Employee Attendance
Some pet parents tend to develop very strong bonds with their companions. Such employees are likely to get concerned when their pets are unwell. The same case applies for days when they have to leave the pets alone for extended durations.
As such, an employee may request for a few hours of each month to check on their pets. Allowing employees to bring their pets to the office helps ease their worry. The time they would have spent checking on their pets can then be infused back into their work.
4. Pets Promote Creativity
Walking meetings have proved time and time again that walking helps improve creativity. Having a pet is another good reason for you to get moving.
Your pet will at some point need water, food, or to go outside for a few minutes. A pet-friendly workplace will eventually lead to the development of a community for pet lovers. The community will force the employees to remain active during the course of the day.
When they are in a pets network or tend to their pets, the employees are likely to come up with more creative ideas that they can inject into the workplace.
5. pets Create Happiness
Having pets in the office can make it easier to interact with new visitors, customers, and clients. Studies have shown that pets help create friendlier greetings, as many people tend to respond in a relaxed and friendlier manner.
Allowing pets also acts as an indicator to clients and partners that the company values its clients, and that the environment is employee-centric.
6. Pets Can Even Employee to Exercise
Many studies have been conducted to determine the impact of living a sedentary lifestyle. The results have shown that this life can be very damaging to an individual. Pets in the office will make employees become more active.
The pet owners will need to provide them with basic needs as well as take them outside regularly. These are things that will require the employee to remain active throughout the day. It also helps get rid of the harmful effects associated with sitting down many hours each day.
From the six points discussed above, it is clear that the benefits associated with creating a pet-friendly workplace are many. Pets help employees to become productive and happier at work.