“Woof Day at the Office” Photo by Bev Lussier
“Bring your pet to work day” may not be as common as a Casual Friday around your workplace, but new polls suggest that pets may be allowed to return as co-workers alongside their owners in the post-pandemic office. It may come as no surprise that many of those individuals working from home over the last year found their human-animal bond strengthened by sheer proximity.
According to a survey from Banfield Pet Hospital and OnePoll, 50% of corporate-level executives responded positively to the idea of allowing remote workers to bring their pets with them as they return to their offices. It is believed that this will provide employee incentive to go back after working from home for the majority of 2020 into 2021, as 63% of pet owners expressed anxiety over how their pets will cope with their owners’ return to normal work routines post-pandemic.
Executives also expressed an awareness and acceptance for their furry friends, with 75% percent acknowledging that being a pet owner has improved their compassion as a business leader. And this notion that pets bring out the best in us as humans may translate into the workplace environment, encouraging cooperative and productive socialization between employees.
Of course, the implementation of tolerant office pet policies will encounter some roadblocks. Some employees suffering from allergies or who lack affection for animals may not be as welcoming to the idea. There are also considerations to accidents that can occur between pets and other employees as well as the fact that many office building operators would have to ease restrictions to allow for more pet-friendly policies.
With everything in mind, the idea is a good one and pet-friendly policy in the workplace post-pandemic should be navigated with the best consideration to all employees and their pets’ health alike. And if anyone is truly serious about making this happen, we’d all love a golden retriever to make our copier runs for us!
See you on the road,
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 4-19-21
