It’s often said that business is a dog-eat-dog world. But whoever says that probably doesn’t have much of an idea of how much pet-friendliness can actually improve employee wellbeing and business success!
Take your dog to work day is coming round again, and our furry friends couldn’t be any more excited. The resounding success of the day, year upon year, has made many office workers very excited too.
But what’s this day all about, and why do we do it?
The Details
When: 25 June
Where: Workplaces worldwide
Who: All your pooches and puppies that want to come in and say hello!
‘Take your dog to work’ day—also known as ‘bring your dog to work’ day—is an initiative that was started back in 1999. The original idea was to raise money for charities that are dedicated to the welfare of dogs. And, of course, we all needed a good reason to hang out with our best friends at work for a day.
Take your dog to work day has traditionally worked on a sponsorship basis. Both businesses and individual workers can donate money to charities, such as the RSPCA; to rescue dogs from abuse, as well as house and care for abandoned dogs.
You can help raise money for these efforts by approaching your employer and asking if they will support the charity drive.
First and foremost, you need to get them to permit you to bring your dog to work for the day. But you may also encourage them to make a donation to a charity organisation. This can be a really beneficial thing to do because many charities will publicly advertise the contributing businesses, and so a company can raise its community profile and goodwill through its participation.
The Benefits of Take Your Dog to Work Day
The benefits of ‘take your dog to work’ day do not stop with raising money for charity. In recent decades, a lot of research has been done to prove what we all already knew: dogs have an astounding ability to make us feel happier.
This is all the more important because the statistics indicate that workplace stress rates have risen by about 20% over the last three decades. We are living fast-paced lives, and we often don’t take the time to stop, relax, and appreciate the moment we are in.
This is where dogs make a big difference. Research has shown that even just petting a dog can have the immediate impacts of:
The longer-term impacts of spending time with dogs include:
At an organisational level, this decrease in stress and poor health has an obvious impact on business performance. The burnout caused by workplace stress has been estimated to cost US businesses more than $300 billion each year as employees work less efficiently, spend more days absent, leave their jobs sooner, and require greater levels of medical, legal, and insurance expenditure.
So, with the evidence there that stress is a very bad thing for businesses and that a dog is a very good thing for stress, the equation looks pretty positive. Having a dog in the workplace can have the effect of significantly improving employee wellbeing and morale, while also leading to greater productivity outcomes as well. This is not to mention the fact that you can provide a significant positive impact by helping dogs in need.
You scratch my back, I scratch your… belly?
We encourage you to talk to your boss, or to your employees, and try to get your workplace involved in ‘take your dog to work day’ in 2021.
Christie Spaces has a pet-friendly policy, and we fully encourage our members to take part in this great occasion. If you have any questions about how to get involved in this event, just get in contact with a member of our community team. We can’t wait to see you and your dog in the near future!
Who let the dogs out? We did!
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