The Benefits of Bringing Your Dog to Work
Reconciling our work and personal life is becoming more complicated. Not only for those with children, but also for those who introduce an animal into their lives. Fortunately, some companies are beginning to see the benefits of bringing your dog to work.
In this article, we’ll take a good look at these advantages. If you’re looking to work for a company where you’re allowed to take your dog with you (or want to convince yours to do so), remember that this benefit comes with responsibilities as well. Let’s take a closer look.
What do companies that let you take your dog with you usually ask for?
A company’s recognition of your right to care for the animals you take into your home is a big step in the overall work environment. However, to enjoy the benefits of bringing your dog to work you must comply with the obligations imposed on you. The most common ones you will encounter are these:
- No one in the company should be forced to deal with animals if they don’t want to or can’t (due to allergies, for example). Therefore, the company must provide a suitable area or agree on the presence of dogs in the workspace.
- The responsibility for the dog’s actions will always be down to its owner.
- Attending to the animal’s needs is also the responsibility of its owner.
- Dogs on company premises must be free of contagious diseases, dewormed, vaccinated, and clean.
- The dog must have received appropriate training that allows it to be in the workplace without disturbing anyone.
The benefits of taking your dog to work
As you may have noticed, the requirements to take your dog to work are logical and are imposed for the sake of good interspecies coexistence. Having clarified that point, let’s look at the advantages of this practice.
Reducing your worries
Leaving your dog home alone for several hours at a time is a cause for concern for many people. Many dogs suffer as a result. Therefore, taking them to the workplace is a way to keep an eye on them and to keep them from feeling lonely and anxious.
Improving your productivity
Looking after your dog means taking short breaks that you can use to clear your head or rest your body. Thanks to these short periods of time, you’ll return to work with a greater ability to concentrate.
Dogs promote socialization
Just like walking through your neighborhood, people will focus their attention on your dog and often interact with him or you. In the workplace, this effect can result in closer bonds between colleagues.
Reducing overall stress
The presence of well-behaved dogs is always a source of joy, both in the way how people enjoy looking at them, and in the way they interact. Generally, workspaces where dogs are allowed are usually more stress-free than those that don’t have them.
Saving money
An obvious point, as one of the biggest benefits of bringing your dog to work is financial. Dog sitters, daycare, and kennels are expensive services, so having the opportunity to take care of your dog’s needs at work is a great way of saving.
Preventing some behavioral problems
Your dog won’t only enjoy your presence all the time, but will probably bond with your colleagues. This gregarious feeling is very important for the animal’s mental health. In this way, problems such as separation anxiety or destructive behaviors are naturally prevented.
Some considerations with this practice
Although we’ve described many benefits of taking your dog to work, you shouldn’t only be concerned about his their behavior and health. It’s essential to take into account how the dog feels in your workplace, as some dogs may suffer in noisy places or with colleagues who don’t respect their needs.
Therefore, the company should allow a period of adaptation in which you’ll have to be more aware of your dog’s behavior. In addition, they’ll have to learn the limits of this new environment, and your colleagues will have to get to know them.
Only after this adaptation period will you be able to judge whether your workplace is appropriate for your dog.
Finally, it’s very important to take into account one more factor: being allowed to bring your animal to work should never be a reason for exploitation. It should never be an excuse for you to work overtime, for example, or to demand greater productivity from you. Both you and your canine are entitled to your rest hours and to be able to leave work when your contract stipulates it.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Le Brech, S. (2013). Diferencias individuales en comportamiento y respuesta de estrés en perros. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- González Ramírez, M. T., & Landero Hernández, R. (2011). Diferencias en estrés percibido, salud mental y física de acuerdo al tipo de relación humano-perro. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 20(1), 75-86.
- Rosas, M. F. A. Presencia de las mascotas en el ambiente laboral: Pets in the workplace. Psicología Social de la Salud, 53.