Why every business should have an office dog

Considering an office dog? Studies show that dogs reduce stress and promote trust amongst co-workers...

27 Mar 2020 By Leanne Philpott Comments

Having a ruff day? I’ve always found that dogs make everything a whole lot better! A dull or monotonous moment in any type of work is almost a certainty. There’s nothing better than seeing your furry friend walk across the office, his favourite toy in tow; fully prepared for the upcoming game of fetch.

I work for an ISO Consultancy firm called UK SME Support. Without trying to bore you all to death, we work closely with businesses' to Implement ISO, refine their health & safety procedures, perform risk analysis, process mapping, fire risk assessments, and gap analysis. I could carry on, however I’m sure that you’ve already heard enough about ISO. I love my job, although as I mentioned earlier; any job can be boring at times. Therefore, there’s no better sight than seeing my four-legged friend trot over to me, pigs ear in mouth and tail wagging franticly. In return for bringing a smile to my face and wasting a couple of minutes, I reward him with a belly rub and the occasional “good boy”.

 

By now, you’re all probably dying to know this mystery dog’s name; he’s called Oscar (Please see the above picture). He’s a cross between a Labrador and a Cocker Spaniel. He’s around two years old and loves nothing more than stretching several hundred times a day. He likes long walks in the forest, his favourite food is fish and he enjoys cuddling on the sofa. I feel like I’m writing a Tinder profile for Oscar, however after the recent devastating loss of his manhood; I’m not sure if dating is something he’s mentally ready for yet. As you can tell, he’s an office favourite. In fact, we love him so much we thought it’d be a good idea to write an article about him.

 

As an avid dog fan, I often spend an exceedingly long amount of time reading about dogs, looking at pictures of dogs and stroking dogs (sad I know). During the part of the day I allocate to “reading about dogs” I discovered that only 8% of employees in the UK can take their dogs to work, according to Reed.co.uk. Seeing this as a statistic makes me feel very lucky to be a part of a small percentage.

However, I feel like this number needs to grow. Scientists completed a study into the effects of bringing dogs to work, have made breakthrough observations regarding the benefits they provide. In 2012, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA studied the stress levels of employees in a manufacturing company who brought their dogs to work. They found these workers reported feeling significantly less stressed throughout the day than those who did not bring a dog to work. In another study individuals were placed into groups of four, with and without dogs, and each group member was charged with a fake crime. In groups where there were dogs present, members were 30% less likely to report each other, suggesting dogs promote cohesion and trust among team workers.

If the key to increasing productivity, relieving stress and improving teamwork is through owning a dog, then sign me up Scotty. I don’t expect anyone to take anything meaningful from this article, but if you do; make sure it’s the burning desire to go to your directors with “Puppy dog eyes” (pardon the pun) and demand an office dog immediately.

 

This article was originally written and published by Curtis James Watson on LinkedIn. Thanks to Curtis for his kind permission to republish on Zookie.com.au.

27 Mar 2020 By Leanne Philpott Comments

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