Man’s best colleague – the benefits of pets in the workplace
In a creative and stressful industry like marketing, we are always looking for ways to increase employee happiness, wellbeing and productivity. From daily stand-up meetings to team lunches and birthday celebrations, we make a conscious effort to build trust and cohesion within the team and make Marketing Eye a great place to work! Our Australian offices are all pet friendly and it makes for a less stressful and more productive work day when our pooches are in.
In 2015, Nestle Corporate HQ introduced a PAW (pets at work) program and have continued to build on this culture initiative since by introducing pet passpawts and building Central Bark for play!Using the 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off principle for maximum productivity, pets at work push employees to endeavour to work with this ratio
andultimately achieve more throughout their day. The domino effect from each of the benefits of having pets in the office adds up to a happier, healthier and more effective workplace.
Better work-life balance
Employees are able to feel more at ease about their ever-growing commitments to home and work life by combining the two and being efficient with their time. While most of us are willing to work a bit extra to get a project finished, by having pets in the workplace, the extra time doesn’t feel like it is eating in to your home life and there’s no guilt associated with pets waiting patiently for you to return from work.
Reduced stress
"Animals reduce activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is our primary stress response system," said Evan MacLean, Ph.D. "Stress canhave a wide range of negative impacts on cognition, mood, and our interpersonal interactions. Keeping this system in check is critical for keeping us in the best shape to be creative, interactive, and productive."
Greater productivity and creativity
The lead-on effect from reduced stress is that employees are able to focus on the task at hand. This will also allow them to be more creative and think about the bigger picture. The small ‘brain-breaks’ during the day are effective in increasing concentration to reduce mind-wandering and writers block.
Company culture
In big companies, dogs have helped employees get to know those they wouldn’t normally interact with very often. You stop and have a conversation and get to know someone because of the ice breaker opportunity. Even in smaller offices of 10-20 like ours, pets have been proven to increase trust and team cohesion when working on team projects like everything we do for our wonderful clients! It also helps you get to know people in your building and to engage with other in the elevator. Employees also feel like having their pet at work is a big perk and it’s a great way to increase satisfaction without raising a paycheck!
Increased overall happiness
Provided everyone is on board with pets being permitted in the workplace (phobias or allergies may be an issue!), the benefits of having them in the office all come together to increase an employee’s happiness. Work benefits aside, at a time when mental health rates are at an all-time high, any lifestyle changes we can make to help combat this serious issue are well worth the time and effort.
We love having our pets at work! They’re especially good at making us all smile and helping us beat Facebook algorithms. Something tells me “the dog ate your marketing strategy” wouldn’t work on clients though….
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The Real Pippa Smith
Kenny Roc (pictured)
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