People are bringing their pets with them more and more, and bringing them to more and more places. We as pet lovers don’t like to leave them behind, we believe more companies should be open to having pets in the work environment.
We all know at least 1 cafe or pub that allows pets to visit with their owners (we do want more of these of course), but we are talking about pet friendly on a bigger scale, we are talking about more workplaces allowing their teams to bring their pets to work!
Lets, start with Cafes and pubs – why should they be dog friendly?
- To start with, it’s what customers want now, all the research shows we are treating pets more and more like members of the family especially among millennials. Research shows we are becoming more and more likely to organise our work and life around our pets, so why not capture that footfall, out walking dogs and calling in for a cappuccino or a gin. It’s a huge amount of footfall to lose out on if your not pet friendly!
- The FREE publicity – There are tons of blogs, articles and Facebook pages dedicated to pet friendly venues. MyPet is based in Belfast and here is a fairly recent article giving plenty of free publicity to the pet friendly businesses. If you’re not pet friendly you’ll miss out!
- Finally, if you’re working behind the bar or making a coffee – why wouldn’t want to see all the pets coming in and out!
Onto why your company should go pet friendly, for one its becoming increasingly common. Pet sector businesses such as Pets at Home aren’t the only ones that are pet friendly, other companies such as Google, Amazon, Ticketmaster & the Challenger bank Monzo are moving towards a more pet friendly workplace.
Pets also have a range of benefits in the workplace which can help both your company and your teams:
- From the perspective of recruitment and retention, being dog friendly can become a huge part of your brand as an employer. A huge 28% in a recent study said that they would be more likely to apply for a job if that company allowed pets in the workplace. When it comes to retention allowing your team to bring their pet into work (even 1 or 2 days a week) becomes part of the reward package. It may save them money on day care, or stop them from feeling guilty because their pet is at home alone.
- The research has also shown that it can improve the social interactions in the workplace and can increase the approachability of people. If you don’t believe us, just take a walk alone for half an hour, How many social encounters do you have? Then repeat with your dog…
- Pets help reduce our stress levels, this is a proven fact, whether it is petting your dog, or having a cat purring in your lap. Pets in the office could help lessen the overall stress of the workplace environment.
- Our recent article on the benefits of pet ownership discussed how pet owners, particularly dog owners tend to be generally healthier. This includes fewer doctors visits, lower cholesterol and improved heart health. By allowing your teams to bring their pets to work, you’re likely to be rewarded by a healthier workforce with fewer sick days.
- It can help create a great image for your company, pets especially dogs are social creatures and love to be included in their owners daily activities. It’s fun for dogs to be out about about with their humans, it’s good for their mental and physical health. By allowing pets into your workplace you will have a positive impact on the animal welfare of a lot of pets. This of course isn’t a direct benefit to your business but I bet your team and your customers will recognise the company for it.
We hope we have proven that having pets around the office can bring your business and your team some huge benefits! This doesn’t matter if you’re a cafe, a pub, a start up or a PLC. We can all work towards having a more pet friendly place of work!
If we have you convinced or if you want to know more comment on the article or pop me an email at conor@mypethq.io. Keep an eye out for our next article in which we will talk about some of ways you can check if your team want to be more pet friendly (I bet the answer is YES) and how to go about putting a policy in place.
