If this dog is “Big Brother”, he can watch me anytime 🙂 Photo courtesy of confessionsoftheprofessions.com
Happy Monday! I know many of you are getting ready for work (or already at work). As you sip your morning coffee/tea and quietly munch on your breakfast while checking email, do any of you start thinking, “Man, it’s Monday. Here we go. I hope today isn’t going to be too crazy”.
I usually felt like this on a Monday morning once I began working Monday-Friday (sidenote: for those who aren’t familiar with a nurse’s schedule, nurses usually work 12 hour shifts, 3 days/week. I’ll always remember asking the HR person at my first Monday-Friday job, “So, I work everyday except weekends?” Her response, “Yes” (with a skeptical look….or maybe it was her “duh” look 🙂 )
One job, though, did not feel as daunting on a Monday because usually as I approached the bottom of my coffee cup and ate the last few bites of my morning bagel, a random dog would appear by my side. The second I would look down at him and give him a few pets, my Mondays (and everyday, actually), suddenly felt a million times better. I always thought of this dog as Mr Social because he made it a point to visit each and every employee throughout the day.
Then another dog I nicknamed “The Beautiful Scavenger” would saunter through the office, sashaying his perfectly brushed golden mane and tail like a fashion model on the runway. I loved looking at this dog but loved even more watching him look in every trash bin for any food scraps while his owner was busy typing away at his desk. I’m not sure his owner knew his gorgeous canine was doing this, but none of us were going to be “the snitch”. 🙂
You might all be asking, “Where did you work? Petco? A veternarian’s office? Doggie beauty salon?” Believe it or not, I was working at a regular office in Silicon Valley, and employees bringing their dogs to work was actually a pretty common thing at tech offices in that area. I loved the idea and the fact that numerous companies allowed their employees to bring their beloved furry friends with them to work. I could always see the joy on these employees when they walked through the office door with their pets and throughout the day as they sought out their dogs during stressful moments. Equally wonderful was how these office dogs lifted the spirits and decreased the stress of everyone else in the office.
I decided to review online articles to see if anyone else felt that pets at the workplace was an excellent stress reliever and was happy to find more than a few articles supporting this idea. I also found quite a few articles too that brought up the pros and cons of pets at the workplace. I listed some of the articles below.
What are your thoughts? I’m obviously a believer of pets in the workplace and highly recommend it to anyone considering working at a pet friendly office.
Who Let The Dogs In? More Companies Welcome Pets At Work by Yuki Noguchi on npr.org
The Rising Trend of Pets at Work by Krystal D’Costa on Scientific American
The Benefits of Bringing Pets to Work at usc.edu
Pets In the Workplace: Is It a Good or Bad Idea? by Kim Tracy Prince on business.com
Take your dog to work Friday? These ’employees’ wag their tails by Kelly Tyko on usatoday.com
The many benefits of pets in the workplace on aaha.org
Why Bringing Your Dog to Work Can Be Great for (Almost) Everyone by Jennifer Calfas on time.com
Grace The Nurse 