Something for the weekend: Friday 24 June marks National Bring Your Dog to Work Day, where many dog owners head into the workplace with their furry pal in tow. Is there anything better than having a furry companion to melt the stress away during your working day? We don’t think so.
Following the end of the government's guidance to work from home, those who adopted puppies during the pandemic realised they would have to leave them at home once they return to the workplace. As a result, flexible jobs platform Flexa Careers undertook some research to find out how many people are now looking for roles that are dog-friendly.
The findings highlighted that there has been a month-on-month increase in the number of platform users stating a preference for roles which come with dog-friendly offices, with the number of users registering a preference for dog-friendly offices when signing up between January and May 2022 rising by 98%.
During the same period, the total number of job searches for roles with dog-friendly offices increased by 53%, while between January and June 2022, the number of employers advertising roles with dog-friendly offices rose by 9%.
Separately, Adam Butler, chief executive officer of office equipment supplier Officeology, spoke with dog food business Pooch and Mutt to find out which breeds make the best office dogs. He found that cavalier king charles spaniels are thought to be ideal office companions that get through the day quite happily by resting on the sofa or by your desk, while cavapoos are a loyal and outgoing breed that loves being around people, rarely drools and has a low tendency to bark.
Butler said: “More than a quarter of the UK population owns a dog, which is a significant proportion of the workforce. Allowing dogs in the office can be a very enticing benefit that boosts employee retention and happiness. In fact, studies have shown that dogs offer social support and reduce stress and anxiety in the workplace. Other research goes as far as to suggest that office pets can help increase productivity.”
We would be more than happy to work with a dog by our side at Employee Benefits, and are sure that regular cuddles throughout the day would boost our productivity and wouldn’t distract us from our work.
