Today’s employers have an agenda to not only please their clients, but to create a positive office culture with including ‘workplace dogs.’ The VC era has spawned a new wave of employee centric thinking and workplaces. Companies like Google, Facebook, Zappos, and Apple have created environments where employees are free to express themselves, coffee and food are abundant and free, and a relaxed fun environment where creativity is encouraged and nurtured.
The Challenges
These workspaces have also created headaches for HR departments seeking to balance the challenges of employment laws, and a host of federal and state mandates and requirements about everything from accessibility to equality, in virtually every division and every employee class. It’s not so simple to open the doors and let the inmates run the asylum.
Many employers are experimenting with policies that allow dogs at work. A 2012 study by the Virginia Commonwealth University suggested that man’s best friend can make a positive difference in the workplace. Ben & Jerrys and Amazon are among the companies who have experimented or implemented dog-friendly workplaces. According to the post, at the Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, people share their work space with approximately 6,000 dogs.
“Although preliminary, this study provides the first quantitative study of the effects of employees’ pet dogs in the workplace setting – on employee stress, job satisfaction, support and commitment,” said principal investigator Randolph T. Barker, Ph.D., professor of management in the VCU School of Business. “Dogs in the workplace can make a positive difference,” he said. “The differences in perceived stress between days the dog was present and absent were significant. The employees as a whole had higher job satisfaction than industry norms.” While it’s not for all employers, (and certainly employers that lease space need to check with their landlords), establishing a “dog policy” will require some serious think– through and communication across all departments.
So what’s included in a dog policy?
To start, a host of considerations and a very well-behaved canine: dogs that display aggressive behavior or are in any way disruptive to morale or productivity are not eligible; dogs that aren’t potty trained get left behind; dogs that have fleas or contagious conditions must get medical clearance; and dogs that bark loudly and repetitively are ineligible.
Of course, employee owners are responsible for cleaning up after dog messes – both inside and outside of the building. Dogs aren’t allowed in any food or manufacturing areas, or in child care, and cats aren’t generally allowed at all. (Seek council of your employment lawyer on this one!)
Even meeting all these requirements, employees generally must sign a waiver and receive management approval before being allowed to bring a dog into the office. And of course, dog owners should recognize that not all employees or visitors like having dogs in the office, and in some cases, cannot physically be in close proximity to certain animals (e.g., due to allergies).
What’s the benefit?
Employee dog owners can be more productive, less likely to worry about getting home on time, and hopefully, a great workplace that brings harmony and energy to your business. But be careful, employees have all sorts of pets…