Do pets in the office bring benefits?

At first the presence of pets in the office may seem strange. However, in recent years this has become a trend for the benefits it gives both to the animal and the work environment.

Some of the most famous companies that have joined this initiative are Google, Mars, Cabify or Nestle Purina. In fact, the latter is part of the Pets at Work Program, which aims to encourage entrepreneurs and employees to work in a more 'natural' way.

Although 74% of dog owners say that they would be interested in the presence of pets in the office, the reality is that it is olo 5% of Spanish employees enjoy these conditions.

Proven benefits

• Creating healthier work environments reducing the stress and promoting the social integration of employees.
• Reconciling personal and work life . In this case, both the owner and the animal are favored so that the former can work with the guarantee that their pet will not be 'unattended'.
• Improves the image of the company at the level of the consumer, of the employees and on the part of the competition to be understood as a vision of the future.
• Facilitates the motivation and dynamics of the company , factors keys in the business field.

Possible difficulties regarding the presence of pets in the office

• Allergies . It is best to establish a minimum distance of five meters between the animal and the allergic person or, if necessary, tie the dog to its owner's table.
• Noise, lack of concentration . Before taking your pet to work, the owners should make sure that the pet behaves appropriately. The animals must be able to socialize with the rest of employees without altering the business dynamics.
• Pollution . As in the previous section, the owners are responsible for the hygiene of their pets, as well as their deworming and vaccination. With regard to dirt by urine or feces, a good previous training usually eliminates this problem.
• Respect restricted areas . Although a company can support animal access to its facilities, some areas of public use such as bathrooms, cafeterias, meeting rooms ... usually restrict their entry. Establishing pet friendly areas in advance and respecting their regulations helps more and more companies to join this initiative.

What the data says

Although there are still some detractors, both at managerial level and from the employees themselves, who claim that animals contribute to work distraction, the truth is that more than one study evidences their advantages .