Bring Your Dog to Work Day: Why You Should

25 June is international ‘Take Your Dog To Work Day’. And if there was ever a day that we’re in support of, being able to bring your dog to work is the pinnacle.

Since COVID-19 hit the globe, a further shift towards all-things-digital means many pet parents are working remotely. Which technically means every day is bring your pet to work day. But for those who are still office-based, we thought we’d look at some of the benefits of pets your workplace could enjoy.

After all, having your dog curled up by your feet or your cat purring alongside your PC as you work (here’s why cats sitting on laptops is a “thing”) sounds like a dream. Right?

And if you are working from home without a fluffy sidekick… Maybe now’s the right time to think about bringing home an adopted dog Or decide whether you’re ready to adopt a cat. Just saying!

Why you should bring your dog to work

Firstly, because who doesn’t want to have morning meetings with a Labrador?

Secondly, because there’s actual scientific proof that making every day bring your dog to work day could have major benefits. Both for employees and employers. (And on a different note, children growing up with pets also experience many benefits.)

Don’t believe us? Here’s what the research shows.

Why bringing your dog to work is good for employees

Bringing your dog to the office can help all employees reap benefits. Even the ones who don’t have pets of their own.

From lower stress to higher morale and everything in between, here are some science-backed benefits to bring your dog to work day:

• Dogs help reduce stress. Some research shows petting a dog for just ten minutes releases oxytocin and lowers your stress levels, whereas other research shows that workers who brought their dogs to work were less stressed than both workers without pets and those who had pets but didn’t bring them to work.
• Dog-friendly workplaces are more productive. Yep, having your dog around can make you more productive. Not hard to believe, when you consider that everyone is less stressed.
• Dogs improve employee morale. I mean, it makes complete sense to us that bring your dog to work day would boost employee morale. But science says so too, according to the same study that showed a link between dogs and reduced stress levels.
• Dog-friendly workplaces have higher employee retention rates. Just like unlimited leave or other perks, making bring your dog to work day an everyday occurrence helps employees stay at their company longer. Who in their right mind would give up a job perk like that? Not us!
• Dogs in the office encourage teamwork. If there’s a dog around, employees are more likely to work effectively together in groups. With Fido as a team mascot, obviously.

Convinced yet? Dogs in the workplace can be beneficial for everyone. But how do you actually let employees bring their dogs to work?

How to implement “bring your dog to work” day (or days)

So, maybe you’ve decided dogs in the office could be a great idea. Obviously, it needs to be done properly.

Here are some guidelines as to how you should introduce dogs to the office:

• Dedicate a closed off working space where pets are not allowed. This is useful for anyone with allergies or who doesn’t like dogs (as would no-dogs-allowed days).
• Ensure only well-trained and socialised dogs are allowed at the office.
• Put controls in place to make sure all dogs are healthy, vaccinated, and on regular worming, tick and flea treatments before they are allowed in the office
• Make sure there’s access to an outdoor area for dogs to toilet
• Have proper guidelines, a code of conduct, or rules that must be followed by pet owners – just like you would if your office was kid-friendly. Include the entire company when making these rules.
• Transition into this new workplace situation slowly, taking feedback from all staff members as you go. You want everyone to be as comfortable as possible with their new way of working. Perhaps one day a week/fortnight/month is enough to start, then ramp it up from there?

And remember, before you decide to go dog-friendly, you’ll also want to make sure you have buy in from most of the people in the workplace. Need some more advice? Read our article that provides plenty of tips for taking your dog to work.

Be sure to read more ways to celebrate the canine-human bond in our International Dog Day article.

Dog insurance for office dogs

Ok, so we actually don’t have insurance specifically for your office furry friend.

But our normal dog insurance policy will cover them whether they’re at the office or not. You know, just in case the workplace stress gets to them and they need to chuck a sicky.