The Telegraph

Ten reasons why bosses should embrace Bring Your Dog to Work Day 

Dogs
Take your four-legged friends along for the commute to work on Friday 22nd June Credit:  Barrie Harwood / Alamy Stock Photo

Tomorrow - Friday 22nd June - is national Bring Your Dog to Work Day.

Bosses across the UK are being encouraged to allow their staff to bring their pets to work, with the intention of making the workplace a more relaxed, productive, enjoyable place. The hashtag #BringYourDogToWorkDay will be trending, with photos of dogs sitting on office chairs, in coffee docks and at workplace receptions.  

On first impressions, this may seem like an indulgence to sentimental pet owners. However, with deeper analysis, it turns out that there’s a strong rationale for a dog friendly attitude in the workplace.
A Thai company allow their staff to bring their dogs to work with the aim to lower stress, promote a positive work environment and increase productivity Credit: RUNGROJ YONGRIT /EPA

Why Bring Your Dog to Work Day should be embraced in 2018

  1. Dogs are a powerful source of social support for humans. When a dog is beside you, you have a sense that they are giving you genuinely unconditional love, and that feels good. A dog doesn’t care if you have done something wrong, if you are grumpy, or if you are having a down day of any kind. A dog loves you anyway, giving you cheerful attention regardless of what else is going on in your life. So it’s no wonder that dogs make humans feel better, improving their social life in a very real and direct way. And it can only be good to have that extra emotional support beside your staff at work.
  2. Dogs encourage owners to take exercise: studies have shown that on average, dog owners walk 79% further than non-dog owners. Exercise has many add on benefits for physical and mental health. Employees with their dogs at work are likely to get out and about at coffee breaks: the physical exercise will help with their state of mind and productivity for the rest of the day.
  3. Petting a dog has been proven to reduce stress, whether or not you own the dog. The process of patting and stroking a dog reduces the blood pressure, changes your physiological state into a more relaxed mode, and makes you feel better. So dogs in your office could help lessen the overall stress of the workplace environment.
  4. Pet ownership generally has been shown to have a number of positive health benefits, including fewer visits to the doctor, lower cholesterol and improved heart health. If you encourage pet ownership amongst your employees by letting them bring their dogs to work, you’re likely to be rewarded by a healthier workforce with fewer sick days.
  5. Dogs are social creatures, loving to be included in their owners’ daily activities. It’s fun for dogs to be out and about with humans, and it’s good for their psychological and physical health too. Far too many dogs are left isolated in back gardens, on their own. If more dogs are brought to work, there will be a positive impact on the animal welfare of thousands of dogs across the country. This may not be a direct benefit for you business, but it’s a do-gooder aspect that your dog-loving staff and customers will appreciate.
  6. If employees are allowed to bring their dogs to work, they will save money through not having to pay for a dog minder, doggy day care or dog walker. This is a genuine financial perk for your staff that costs you nothing.
  7. Dogs act as a social lubricant, increasing the ease and frequency of conversations between friends, colleagues and strangers. If you don’t believe this, take a dog with you and count the number of social encounters you have compared to being out and about on your own. So the human social connections in your workplace will be enhanced by having dogs scattered amongst your team.
  8. Dogs that are used to being out and about with their owners tend to be more relaxed, better socialised and easier to be around than dogs that are left isolated on their own. The process of spending time in a wide variety of social situations often leads to positive conditioning for dogs, helping them to be well rounded, friendly and easy-going animals. The more pleasant experiences that a dog enjoys, the easier they tend to be to interact with. This is another do-gooder aspect of a dogs-at-work policy: you will be doing your bit to make the nation’s dogs more sociable and better behaved.
  9. A Dogs At Work policy is often viewed by employees as a valuable employment perk.  A recent study showed that over two fifths (43%) of employees would like to see pets allowed in the office, 39% felt that pets at work would increase their productivity, 50% believed it would increase their happiness, and  a significant proportion of workers would be prepared to stay at work for longer if pets were allowed to be there with them.
  10. Your company will be joining a long list of successful companies that have adopted Dogs At Work policies, including Amazon, Google and Ben & Jerry’s. Not surprisingly, a pet food company has one of the longest running Pets-At-Work schemes. Purina PetCare have had a year-round dog friendly policy since 2003. They’ve witnessed for themselves the many benefits, and to encourage other companies to join in, they have launched a Pets at Work Toolkit which includes six easy steps to set-up a successful Pets at Work scheme, as well as, as well as health and safety advice and tips on workspace requirements.
Dogs are social creatures, loving to be included in their owners’ daily activities Credit: Hero Images Inc. / Alamy

Do you want to make your dog owning employees’ love you more than ever? Welcome their pets to work tomorrow, and they’ll be barking and howling your praise.