If there is one thing lockdown has taught us, it's how valuable our pets are. Our four-legged friends have been Johnny on the spot to cheer us up and alleviate our boredom at every turn. But what about when we get back to normality and must return to the office? The benefits of having a pet at work are numerous, but here we have narrowed it down to 3 simple reasons why any office manager should be including the dog at the office.
Alleviate stress
Have you ever come home after a long day and have a romp with your dog or a cuddle with your cat? Just being close to them and knowing that they want to close to you as well can really improve your mood, especially when you've had a very stressful one. This is a universal phenomenon for almost all of us that being around animals will just always pick up your mood and inspire you to push those negative thoughts firmly to the back of your mind. The International Journal of Workplace Health Management wrote up a study whereby they examined the levels of stress for various employees across various sectors and judged if the presence of a dog in the office made any impact of the staff's moods. They examined the cortisol levels of the employees each morning and compared them to the results at the end of the day. Those who were fortunate enough to spend their workday with a four-legged friend showed to have significantly lower stress levels than those who bore the day solo.
Improve teamwork
Teamwork cohesion training is a very common to conduct some sort of team building or team bonding exercise. Those who can bond and collaborate with one another will have more synchronicity in their teams and become more productive overall. A social experiment conducted by the Central Michigan University took a closer look as to whether the mere presence of a cuddly, canine companion in the office would help with the efficiency of teamwork. The test showed that any of the employees who interacted frequently with the dogs would measure a higher level of trust, team cohesion and general personal intimacy than those who had not been in such contact.
Higher productivity
Energy boosts are always important in any workplace as the sluggishness and drama of the day can cause fatigue among the best of us, particularly if it's just after lunch. Instead of having a 10-minute power nap after lunch, you could take the office dog for a quick walk around the outside of the building. Or better yet, use the dog walk as an incentive to your employees if they got a lead that morning. People who have a dog with them at work do not have to worry about getting home quick to look after them, so they are able to work longer hours and commit more time to their workday. There is also evidence to suggest that companies that are friendly to pets will have fewer employees call in sick too. On that note here is a cute puppy and have a nice day!
