Workplace Wellness: How to know if your dog is suited to a pet-friendly office life

Bringing a dog to work can boost employees' morale and improve social interactions. But not every four-legged friend is suited to office life 

Caroline Senior, co-owner of the Blackwater micro-distillery in Co Waterford, with Shadow and Socks 

I WORKED in a language school in Paris in the early 2000s. Our office administrator used to bring her terrier to work and, mon Dieu, did that doggie receive a lot of love. Almost everyone who passed the administrator’s desk stopped to pat its head.

The couple who ran the school also brought their dog to work. Unlike the terrier, this dog was massive. He was an oversexed Newfoundland who would rear up on his hind legs and lunge at every woman who crossed his path. The couple would laugh it off, but from personal experience, I can attest that the women did not find it funny.

These memories were brought to mind by the results of a new ISPCA survey. Of the 1,047 adults it interviewed, 56% said that companies with pet-friendly policies were more attractive workplaces.

This isn’t the first study to highlight how many people would like to bring their pets to work rather than leave them home alone. In 2017, the online job board CV Library canvassed 2,000 employees across Ireland and Britain and found that 40% would like to see more workplaces allowing pets. Some 32% also said they’d be more likely to apply for a role in such a company.

Considering the current recruitment crisis, ISPCA CEO Dr Cyril Sullivan believes these findings should encourage employers to reconsider their attitude toward pets in the workplace.

“The research confirms that pet-friendly policies benefit employers in that they drive new recruits to choose their workplace,” he says.

Ciara Murran, head of communications at Dogs Trust Ireland, agrees.

“A survey of 1,663 people we conducted earlier this year found that 84% of dog owners and 73% of non-dog owners would like to see dogs allowed at suitable workplaces,” she says.

The number of pet owners in Ireland increased significantly during the pandemic, and Dogs Trust alone experienced a 134% upsurge in the number of people applying for pets.

“With so many people working from home, with no chance of socialising with others, adopting a pet seemed like a good way to pass the time,” says Murran.

She’s worried about what will happen to those pets now that workers are returning to the office. “We’re already inundated with people who want to surrender their dogs to our care,” she says. “They don’t have the time to care for them anymore because of long hours at work, and they don’t want the dogs being left alone for too long. Many would like to bring their dogs to the office, and we’d like to see workplaces being made more accessible to people who want to continue to include their dog in their work life.”

Positives of pooches

It’s not just dogs who would benefit from this, says Gosia Hogan, a Dublin-based psychotherapist who uses a therapy dog in her practice. “There are physiological benefits to being around dogs,” she says. “Studies have shown that they lower blood pressure, cause an increase in the feelgood hormone oxytocin and decrease levels of cortisol, the hormone directly associated with stress.”

In an ISPCA survey, nine in 10 people said having a dog positively affected their mood; 71% said it helped with stress relief, and 35% thought it improved their productivity.

“Dogs have even been shown to be good for team bonding,” says Hogan. “Having pets in the workplace can help to promote social interaction.”

Pets are allowed in the Dogs Trust office, and Murran has experienced these benefits for herself. “Whether it’s after an intense brainstorming session or a particularly tough day, having a dog present boosts morale,” she says. “Taking a break to give them a pet or getting a soft nudge on the arm from a dog looking for some love always puts us in a better mood.”

Though there are many benefits, there are potential pitfalls to having pets in the workplace. “It seems wonderful but for it to work, it has to be carefully thought out,” says Horgan. “For example, plenty of people are allergic to animals or suffer from fears or phobias.”

Ciara Murran of Dogs Trust Ireland, with communications assistant in arms

Pets can also be a distraction. In the CV Library survey, 40% of men and 30% of women cited this as a negative consequence of having pets at work.

“The animals themselves can also pose problems,” says Hogan. “Will they behave in a new environment around new people? How will they respond if there are other animals in the workplace? Even things like shedding hair can cause trouble in an office environment, and introducing a pet-friendly policy needs to take all of this into account.”

Dogs Trust Ireland offers advice on how to develop pet-friendly policies.

“The first thing employers should do is carry out a risk assessment to determine if the workplace is amenable to pets,” says Murran. “If there are no legal, health and safety, or insurance reasons restricting employees from bringing pets to work, setting ground rules is the next step.”

These ground rules must be communicated to employees and can include conditions such as the dogs being adequately trained and fully vaccinated. Employees should also agree to keep their dogs under control and take full responsibility for any damage they might cause in the workplace.

Organically developed pet policy

Caroline Senior knows all about such ground rules. She and her husband Peter Mulryan run the Blackwater micro-distillery in west Waterford and bring their two dogs to work daily. Their head distiller, John Wilcox, also brings his dog to work with him.

“Our dogs Shadow and Socks are sleeping under my desk as I speak,” she says. “John’s dog Finnegan is keeping him company somewhere too.”

Their company policy on pets is something they have arrived at organically over time. “There are parts of the business premises that the dogs simply aren’t allowed to enter and that’s something we have imposed strictly from day one,” says Senior. “From having other dogs visit us occasionally, we’ve realised that we only have the physical space to accommodate three dogs on any one day. Any more, and it wouldn’t be comfortable for us, our employees, or the dogs.”

Senior believes a dog’s temperament is the most important thing to consider before bringing them to work. “A territorial dog could be problematic and so too could a dog that needs lots of exercise,” she says. “My two could sleep for Ireland, but plenty of other dogs would chew the legs off the table.”

She is also adamant about dogs being fully house-trained and neutered. “We couldn’t have them on site otherwise.”

Senior thinks her staff benefit from being around the dogs. “They all say that they enjoy the welcome they get from them,” she says. “The dogs are always so pleased to see them. Those big puppy eyes looking up at you can’t help but make you feel good.”

The only drawback to having dogs in the office that she can think of is the need to hoover more often. “From an employer’s point of view, I’d say that having pets in the office isn’t as much of an issue as you might think,” she says. “If everyone in the office is happy with it, if you limit the number of dogs to the space available and are careful about the dog’s temperament, it can be a very positive situation. Our dogs love it here, and we love them.”