We spent this past weekend in Boone, and it was a blast. I love Boone for its cool mountain air, its wide-open spaces, and its acceptance of our pooch – pretty much anywhere we want to go! We like taking family vacations in places where our dog is welcome, too. And a lot of people like working alongside their dogs as well. This is great for those work-from-home folks, but what about the ones who still have to head into an actual office? Lucky for them, Take Your Dog to Work Day occurs once a year, and it is coming up this month.
Benefits of Take Your Dog to Work Day
June 21 is Take Your Dog to Work Day. This Friday, employees will reap the benefits of working alongside their best friends. If you need further clarification that your dog is, in fact, man’s best friend, you can read our post by the same title. And if you need to know why you should go along with our suggestion to take your dog to work, we’re sharing three benefits to having dogs in the workplace.
Dogs can help relieve stress.
In a recent study, researchers studied the saliva of employees who had dogs present in their workplace, and employees who did not. They found that, at the end of the day, the employees whose co-workers were of the four-legged variety had lower cortisol levels than the ones working sans dogs. Marie-Jose Enders, who studies relationships between humans and animals further supports the benefits of stress relief provided by dogs when she speaks of the positive effects of petting a dog. "Not only does your cortisol level drop when you stroke a dog; you also produce more of the hormone oxytocin, which makes you feel more relaxed and happier," Enders says.
Dogs help promote positive interaction.
Dog ownership can be a point of common interest between co-workers. It can also be a conversation starter! Working alongside your co-worker and his/her dog can help you see your co-worker as a person, rather than just another employee of the same business where you work. Dogs at work can also have the added benefit of encouraging others to adopt, something Pet Sitters International had in mind when they created the holiday 20 years ago.
The ability to take your dog to work can decrease employee turnover.
The perks of being able to take your dog to work with you are many, and those advantages just may keep you in your current workplace. If you are able to take your dog to work, you won’t have to worry about hiring a dog walker or taking your dog to doggie daycare. This saves you time and money! You also won’t have to run home to let your dog out, so your performance at work may increase and you may be able to work longer hours. Job satisfaction will improve as a result of increased productivity.
Bring your dog every day!
With all of the data pointing to the benefits of allowing dogs at work, it seems crazy that there are businesses that do not allow pets in the workplace. But then again, I am not wild about hearing my favorite restaurant has allowed their chefs to bring their furry sidekicks into the kitchen! Within reason, pets can be welcome additions to the office. In fact, PetPartners, Inc, developed a DogsAtWork guide that teaches employers and employees how to easily make every day, take your dog to work day! This year marks the 21st annual Take Your Dog to Work Day. Will you be showing up, four-legged friend in tow?
