Dogs in the Workplace

Today is my brother's birthday, and while we did not grow up together, and I never had a dog when I was a child, he and I both share a love affair with canines. So today's post is devoted to my sibling and the dogs we have loved.

 I have loved many dogs, including this one.  Would my work life be better if he were at my side?  Evidence seems to say yes.  We started a pet therapy program on our inpatient psychiatry unit two years ago and it has been an unmitigated success.  Patients with PTSD who have trouble relating to their health care providers readily cuddled up to a dog.  Some of the less enthusiastic amongst us saw puppy puddles and dog bites as potential hazards but none of that has materialized.

So what about all of us bringing mans best friend into the workplace?  According to a study, employees who bring their dogs to work produced lower levels of the stress-causing hormone cortisol.  Published in spring 2012, the study, led by Randolph Barker, a professor of management, was conducted at a dinnerware company in North Carolina, which sees 20 to 30 dogs a day on its premises. As the workday went on, research found average stress level scores fell about 11% among workers who had brought their dogs to work, while they increased 70% for those who did not.

According to a 2008 national poll of working Americans 18 and older, 17% reported their company permits pets at work. In 2012, the group reported in a separate study that workers surveyed brought their dogs with them to work 22 times in 2012, compared with 17 times in 2008.  In addition to relaxing employees, the need to walk the dog midday might replace dessert with some noontime exercise--yet another healthy choice.

Happy workers are more productive workers, so if pets make that happen, is it something that should become the norm rather than the exception?