Every dog lover has, at some point, wished they were allowed to bring their pet into the office. Yet very few offices are dog friendly. Similarly, there will be plenty of employers and business owners who would probably love to have dogs brightening up the workplace but are worried it wouldn’t be good for business. Hopefully this guide will change all of that by showing why companies should, and how they can, have dogs in the office.
Allowing dogs in the office can actually be beneficial to business in a number of ways. To start with having dogs around actually reduces stress levels for workers. This isn’t just some vague theory, but has actually been proven by a number of studies. This works because petting a dog releases a hormone in the brain (Oxytocin) that not only reduces stress but actually lowers blood pressure. This provides a genuine benefit to a business as 40% of all work related illness are stress related.
There are also obvious advantages of having a dog friendly office when it comes to talent attraction and retention, as people are more likely to join your company and stay there if they can bring their dog. Perhaps more surprisingly is the fact that having dogs in the office actually leads to having a more creative office with better teamwork. This is simply because dogs act as a ‘social catalyst’ leading to greater interaction between different people and teams in the office.
So that’s some of the reasons why dogs should be allowed in the office. But what about the how? This is covered in more detail in the guide below, produced by Euroffice, but the essence of creating a dog friendly office revolves around fact finding, rules and organisation.
Hopefully this guide will give you all you need to know about having dogs in the office. And, if your company decide to allow dogs into the office, it will be in good company, as huge corporations such as Google, Amazon and Ben & Jerry’s already allow dogs into their office.
