A survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association revealed that there were approximately 70 million pet dogs and 74 million pet cats in the United States in 2011. As the figures continue to grow, more and more people are not only becoming pet owners but consider their pet a member of the family.
Annually, Take Your Pet to Work Day is scheduled for the third Friday in June. This year, it’s Friday, June 21. Many companies are initiating policies to allow their employees to take their dogs to work. For example, Google, Amazon and Etsy have well-publicized policies to allow pets in their workplace. Additionally, some companies offer pet insurance, time off to volunteer at an animal shelter and pet bereavement leave.
An employer’s decision to accept animals in the workplace ought to take into account the potential impacts to the health, safety and well-being of co-workers, regardless of whether the decision accommodates an employee with a disability or fulfills the employer’s desire to create a pet-friendly workspace. Pet friendly benefits include reduction in employee stress levels and improved morale.
What to consider when developing a pet-friendly policy:
Make certain that a pet-friendly environment is a benefit for the majority of employees.
Involve management in the decision and consider employee feedback.
Receive approval from your landlord. Good ventilation and understanding of liability is important.
Write a policy that outlines rules, consequences for infractions, etc.
Set parameters, such as whether you’ll allow puppies or require an employee to work a certain length of time to be eligible for participation. Set up an application process.
Implement a means for feedback, including complaints.
Prepare an appropriate and safe pet-friendly environment; for example, bring your own water bowl, remove tempting chew toys like electrical cords.
Be prepared for dog fights and injuries from dog bites.
Consider a dog’s weight or size as to whether they can roam.
Provide dog-free areas for people who are allergic or don’t like dogs. An estimated 15 to 30 percent of people with allergies have allergic reactions to dogs and cats.
Be informed. Know the location of the office where the dog will be, name, breed, age, vaccinations, whether it’s been fixed, had training or is a service dog.
Service dogs have very specific roles and you need to ensure that other dogs that might be present do not in any way impact their job. A service dog is responsible for serving its human in a very specific manner. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Titles II and III, service dogs are individually trained to perform work or tasks to assist an individual with a disability. Although the disability may not be visible, it is NOT appropriate to ask why someone has a service dog.
Therapy dogs can also be found in workplaces. A therapy dog assists a professional service provider in the treatment or rehabilitation of a patient or client. These dogs can be found accompanying a variety of therapists and other professionals. They can be involved in schools or other places where people have experienced a recent tragedy to provide emotional comfort, and are often in schools to participate in R.E.A.D. programs where they’re matched with an individual who works on reading skills by reading to an animal.
Some basic guidelines to assure wagging tails in the workplace:
Require that dogs that participate are well socialized and exercised.
Allow the dogs that will be in the workplace together to meet prior to taking them into work (this gives a new meaning to the water cooler meeting).
Be prepared for the fact that your dog might not want to be in the work environment. Know how to identify signs of stress in your dog. This can be panting, whining and/or complaining about the boss!
Follow AKC specifications for Canine Good Citizens. At a minimum, dogs should be able to follow sit, stay and down commands.
Know your schedule and don’t expect that because you love your dog others will feel the same way or that they will be responsible for watching your dog for you while you have a business lunch, meeting, etc.
If your pet is sick, leave it at home.
Dog bite laws vary from state to state, and the definition of owner or keeper of the dog is particularly important for employers.
Be respectful! Perceptions of dogs can differ across different societies and cultures.
Dogs should be calm and non-reactive. Barking and commotion are problematic. Guard dogs would be an exception.
For companies with animal lovers that don’t feel they can make the commitment to allow pets at work, a solution might be requesting an animal shelter to bring animals available for adoption into the office, scheduling a company paid pet photographer and offering a lunch time or after hours photo shoot for employee pets.
In determining whether you want to incorporate pet-friendly policies into your workplace, you might want to begin by allowing one day per week or month to analyze the results.
Benefits of a pet-friendly work environment are usually increased morale, reduction of stress, greater employee retention and a more cohesive company culture. FBN
By Beth Caplan
Performance Staffing, locally owned and operated for almost 25 years. Our professional team is competent and knowledgeable with over fifty years of combined staffing experience. For more information please call 928-526-6499 or visit us at performancestaff.com.