Your employees are the foundation on which your business thrives, from the receptionist who first greets your clients to the executive team whose decisions drive your company forward and upward.
Keeping employees productive and loyal is more challenging than ever in the modern office environment, and work-life balance has become key in recruitment and employee retention. One perk in the battle for low employee turnover rates is offering a pet-friendly office.
A survey by Banfield Pet Hospitals indicates 75%-95% of respondents agreed they have improved morale, better working relationships, and the ability to work longer hours when they can bring their dog to work.
The workforce has changed in recent times, and studies show people are delaying marriage and the start of families until their careers are firmly established, leading more employees to become pet owners. What happens at the end of the workday? Those employees leave for home to walk their dogs, regardless of whether or not the work is done. Allowing employees to bring their well-trained dogs into the office not only gives them peace of mind for their pets’ well-being, it allows the employee to finish their workday based on tasks, not time, increasing production quality in the overall staff.
Pets are a natural conversation subject, and their presence is shown to curb gossip and resentment among employees. When your workforce spends more time talking about their pets than they do others, it leads to the slower spread of rumors, interoffice squabbles, and happier, more cohesive team members.
Do your employees struggle with afternoon doldrums or post-lunch fatigue? Advice has long been to stretch your legs or take a short walk. Having a pet that needs walking on a regular basis facilitates exercise. Five or ten minutes of fresh air brings employees back to their desks perked up and ready to cross the day’s finish line strong and with energy.
Is your office high pace, high pressure? The presence of animals, particularly dogs, has been shown to reduce stress just by their presence. In fact, dogs are being trained as service animals for courtrooms to help witnesses in high pressure situations keep their cool during difficult testimony. During a long day of intense work and collaboration with others, having a friendly, furry face can reduce fatigue and keep your employees’ emotional balance level and productive through long hours.
Recognizing the benefits of a pet-friendly office shows that as an employer, you keep your staff’s emotional well-being in mind in a multitude of ways, facilitating more exercise and stress reduction, and recognizing they have complex emotional needs. A pet-friendly workspace can do wonders for relaxing the office atmosphere, thereby increasing employee productivity and loyalty and ensuring you have a happy staff for years to come.
