I hope you work in one of the offices celebrating Take Your Dog To Work Day today! Lally is helping me work today by occasionally bringing me her squeaky ball as a reminder that it’s time for a play break. She needs to get a job as a ball retriever at a tennis court, I think.
Thousands of companies are expected to allow workers to bring their pets to work today! When the event began eight years ago, only a few hundred companies participated. Pet Sitters International started the event to help homeless shelter pets find new, loving families by connecting businesses and animal shelters.
More and more companies seem to be allowing pets to come to work! A survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association finds that allowing pets on the job generally reduces absenteeism and helps encourage workers to get along.
Take Tellme Networks Inc as an example. The telecommunications company allows pets in the workplace regularly, not just one day a year. Labrador Retriever Penny is learning commands in Chinese from a co-worker. Bulldog Jackson is often invited to staff meetings without his owner. The project manager’s pet bulldog is known throughout the office for his loud snoring.
North Carolina’s Replacements Ltd. also welcomes pets to work on a daily basis. Unlike the humans on staff, the dogs haven’t broken a single piece of china or crystal.
Surveys done by SimplyHired.com and Dogster.com find that many dog owners are willing to take a lower paying job or work longer hours if their pets can come to work with them. One third of all dog owners surveyed said they would take a five percent pay cut if their pets could come to work. Two-thirds of dog owners surveyed said they would work longer hours, and one half of survey respondents said they would switch jobs if it meant their pups would be welcome.
You can search for dog-friendly employers at SimplyHired.com — more than four hundred companies list themselves in the dog-friendly category.