Dogs allowed: Creature comforts at the workplace
— -- Dog-friendly policies that allow employees to bring well-behaved pets to work are popping up in many offices and, by all accounts, the downsides are minimal.
"We always say around here that dogs have never broken anything. People have, but dogs, never," says Jeanine Falcon of Replacements Ltd., the Greensboro, N.C., company that warehouses more than 13 million pieces of china, crystal and silver and ships out thousands of items every day.
"It's part of our culture here to have pets," says Falcon, adding that most days there are 20 to 30 leashed or crated or behind-baby-gates dogs in the building, and even the occasional cat or rabbit.
A recent survey by the American Pet Products Association Manufacturers found that 20% of companies now have pet-friendly policies (though experts believe most are smallish operations), and the Humane Society of the United States just released Dogs at Work: A Practical Guide to Creating Dog-Friendly Workplaces by California dog trainer Liz Palika and HSUS' Jennifer Fearing, who ushered in HSUS' dog-welcoming policy two years ago.
"We're not proselytizing that the whole world should have dog-friendly policies," says Fearing, but HSUS is easing the way for interested firms. Many companies inclined toward the idea have abandoned it when they realized how long it would take to establish whether there's sufficient interest and how to develop policies and sanctions. "We've done all that work," Fearing says, "removed the obstacles, created all the discussion points and presented possible forms so now they can have the discussions about whether it's an idea that is right for their organization."
Supporters say pets in the workplace reduce stress among owners who worry about home-alone dogs, are a calming presence for even the non-owners and help employees form relationships. And in these times of disappearing benefits, pet-friendly policies are a free perk. Companies with such policies range from edgy Newport Beach, Calif., cosmetics company Urban Decay to Healthwise, the Boise-based non-profit health information provider. Most allow only dogs, but some, like Replacements, allow all kinds of pets.
