Every year in June there’s a ‘Bring Your Dog to Work Day’. It’s a brilliant idea, but it doesn’t apply to RMS, because we are fortunate to have a permanent, all year-round office dog.
And he isn’t just a dog. He’s a dog with a job.
Murphy, a cross between a Labrador and an Irish Setter, is our Chief Morale Officer, and we are so lucky to have him. He has been part of the team for a couple of years and helps us to maintain a happy environment, particularly when times are stressful.
Here are 5 benefits of having your own canine colleagues in the office:
Dogs Reduce Stress
It’s no secret that dogs are man’s best friend. Stress in the workplace is inevitable, but dogs can help to lower stress levels and improve job satisfaction. They can help to counterbalance office tensions, and dogs are adorable (fact!), so they will act as a workplace mood-booster.
The Covid-19 pandemic, the subsequent lockdowns, and the restrictions they have placed on our daily lives have had a consequential negative effect on people’s mental health. Our lives have changed, and many of us are feeling fragile, so now is the perfect time to allow staff to bring their dogs into the office. It’s true that the majority of RMS head office staff are still working from home, so we aren’t currently experiencing our daily dose of Murphy goodness, but we still see him on video calls, and we’ve got the memories of how happy he made the office pre-Covid.
He’s still doing his job, and for now, that’s more than enough.
Dog-Friendly Workplaces Appear More Attractive to Most People
Having happy, motivated employees is one of, if not the best way, to retain talent. Additionally, the promise of an office dog? That is far more appealing than an office devoid of pets. It will show outsiders that your office is a fun and friendly place to work. An office dog, or dogs, can help attract and retain those employees that are looking for a more relaxed and informal working environment. Allowing dogs in the workplace can make employees and visitors think better of a company for offering this benefit.
Office Dogs can Improve Physical and Mental Wellbeing
Dogs need to go outside to get some exercise and to conduct their business, which means they require active humans to keep an eye on them. Active humans make for more energised, and therefore, productive employees.
A massive bonus is that healthy lifestyles lead to less stress-related health issues and less absenteeism. If people are healthy, they’ll be happier, which improves productivity and employee retention.
Dogs Boost Office Morale
Our office dog, Murphy, is known as the Chief Morale Officer for a reason.
It’s because you get an instant mood boost when he greets you and demands your attention. These good feelings do wonders for office morale. When we get stressed, we’ll give Murphy a pat or a scratch behind his ears, then we get back to it with gusto!
Dogs Facilitate Communication
Poor communication can have negative effects on company productivity. In some offices people keep to themselves and you can hear a pin drop. In these types of situations, a dog is a great idea, because it will encourage team building. It will enable people to open up and talk about shared interests, and create a genuine sense of camaraderie among your employees. Dogs lighten the mood and encourage people to interact with each other. Employees who communicate well will work better together, and a genuine team spirit will naturally translate to a company delivering a better service.
It’s Not All Pawsitive
Of course, there can be negatives to bringing dogs into the workplace. From stealing food out of bins and barking at visitors, to behaving aggressively towards other dogs, sometimes things can get out of hand. Additionally, dogs may invalidate a company’s liability insurance and could compromise its fire safety certificate unless a risk assessment is carried out. And the fact remains that looking after a dog is an extra responsibility for employees. Workplace dogs may be akin to bringing a member of the family into work, but they demand attention, which costs time and effort.
However, at RMS, we love dogs and feel lucky to have Murphy as our very own Chief Morale Officer. Yes, he can sometimes be a distraction, but the benefits of having a dog in the office far outweigh the negatives. They lower stress, improve mental and physical wellbeing, facilitate co-operation and other positive behaviours amongst staff. It costs employers nothing to implement a dog-friendly workplace policy, apart from performing a risk assessment for insurance purposes, and the benefits dogs will bring to your staff, and company, are plentiful and definitely worthwhile.
