Pets at Work? Yes pleeeeease! Guaranteed way to add a spark to your working day.

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Add a buzz to your office with an office pet

Anyone that knows me will tell you that I will be slightly biased with regard to my opinion on whether pets should be allowed in the office. I love being with my dog, so why wouldn’t I want her with me all day at work? Of course, not everyone would agree with me, in fact one of my best friends would leave the office if I was to walk in with Willow.

7 Terrific reasons you should take your pet to work

However, there are real benefits to having a pet in the office, which should be considered, here are a few:

  1. Having access to a dog can be a calming influence, reduce stress levels and improve blood pressure, whether it is your own or someone else’s.
  2. Research has shown that having a pet in the office can improve morale and increase happiness levels in staff.
  3. Pets not only benefit our mental wellbeing but our physical wellbeing too. All dogs need to take a break and have a walk, therefore encouraging employees to get up move around and to go for a walk at lunchtime.
  4. Pets are great at improving your company culture (see my previous blog) by improving the office atmosphere. By making the office feel more relaxed and like home your employees will want to come to work and not mind staying late.
  5. Improve trust and communication in the office. Pets are great at bringing people together and are great conversation starters, encouraging collaboration and socialisation between your employees.
  6. Lastly, but by no means least, it makes the work life balance for pet owners much easier. I know that if my dog was with me I would not have to rush out of the door dead on time!!
  7. Oh, I nearly forgot, there is also no need for a shredding machine, because if you have a dog like Willow in the office she shreds every piece of paper she can get her paws on.

What do you need to know before bringing your pet to work

There are, obviously, steps that need to be taken to ensure that the environment is healthy for both the pet and employees. The pet should be regularly groomed, wormed and had flea treatments as well as being up to date with all of their vaccinations. Introduce your pet slowly and make sure they are acclimatised to the new environment. Ensure that employees know the pets dietary requirements or you could end up with a very large office pet! Ensure that no members of staff have pet allergies. And lastly, your pet should be well behaved, unlike our beloved Willow at times!!

Purina have produced a `Pets at Work (PAW)` toolkit with advice for organisations of any size on how to introduce their own scheme.

So employers, please can we have bring your pet to work day every day, pretty please!!!!!

Do you bring your pets to work? Let us know in the comments below!

Debbie Wilson

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