Hi everyone,
Today we have some usual information on how to make your office pet friendly from our friend over at Pets Best Insurance. Would your office allow this? Let us know your thoughts! 🙂
A Guide to Making Your Office Pet-Friendly
Pets in the workplace positively impact your employees’ morale and work productivity. According to a survey by the American Pet Products Association, companies who welcome pets in their offices see a decrease in employee stress levels and less absenteeism from work. Employees are also more willing to put in extra hours because they don’t have to worry about rushing home to feed and walk their pets.
Pets break the ice between your employees from different departments and help them build a strong rapport. A pet-friendly office gives your employees peace of mind that their pets are safe and cared for throughout the work day. With their happy faces and wagging tails, employees can’t help but smile when they’re around pets. Not to mention, animals bring a sense of fun and humor into the office environment.
With the right steps in place, a pet-friendly office policy isn’t difficult to create. At Pets Best Pet Health Insurance, we welcome all pets and not just dogs. While dogs are the majority of the pets you’ll see in our office, we do have the occasional cat, kittens, and even ducks. The suggested tips below can also be implemented on a permanent basis or on special days such as “Take Your Pet to the Office.” Before creating a policy, check with your building owner/landlord to make sure it’s okay to have animals inside your office building. Due to health codes, and insurance restrictions there are some buildings that don’t allow animals (except for service animals).
Whether you have two or 200 employees, Pets Best encourages your company to create clear, consistent guidelines. Remember that it’s important to always keep the safety of your employees and their pets in mind.
- Owners must be responsible for their pets at all times
Owners must be responsible for their pets and watch them throughout the work day. If they need to step briefly away from their workspace, employees must safely contain their pets within their cubicle/office or have a co-worker supervise the animals. When owners are walking around with their pets, they should also keep them leashed.
Owners are responsible for taking their pets outside for bathroom breaks and need to clean up after them. Failure to clean up after pets can cause real issues with landlords and other building occupants. Give your employees flexibility so they can take their pets outside for quick breaks throughout the day.
- Animals must act appropriately in an office environment
In order to maintain a safe and harmonious environment, pets must act appropriately and cannot adversely affect office operations or disturb employees. They must be social and friendly, and cannot display aggressive behaviors towards employees and other animals. Animals need to be well-trained and cannot chew, bite or scratch furniture, etc.
Create safe areas for pets (i.e. inside employees’ cubicles or offices) so they feel comfortable. Use child-proof safety gates so pets are contained within one area.
Ask employees to bring in their pet’s favorite bed, blanket, toys, and water and food dishes so animals feel comfortable and safe in their new environment.
- Implement a “three strikes” rule for owners and their pets
Implement a “three strikes” rule with your employees. Give animals three chances when it comes to accidents or unsuitable behavior. If a dog has three indoor accidents or shows aggressive behavior, ask the owner to remove the dog immediately from the office and let the owner know the dog can’t return. You don’t want that liability if another animal or an employee becomes injured as a result of the animal’s aggressive behavior.
- Take into account employees who have allergies or aren’t comfortable around animals
Be sensitive to your employees who are allergic to animals and/or feel scared around animals. Not everyone is comfortable around animals so create “pet-free” zones inside the office where no animals are allowed.
Talk to your janitorial service/cleaning company and let them know about your pet-friendly office policy. Make sure they thoroughly wash and sanitize floors and surfaces where pets are located. For employees with allergies, it’s important that carpets are vacuumed and cleaned well to get rid of dander and animal hair.
- Additional Tips
- Make sure employees who bring their pets to work sign a waiver that states they are responsible for any damage caused by their pets.
- All pets must be current with their vaccinations, in good health and can’t have fleas.
- Keep a supply of treats around the office so pets feel like they are part of your office family.
- Provide lint rollers, clean up bags for waste and carpet cleaner.
- Understand that while having pets in the office is a real plus, there are inevitably going to be bumps along the way—even a well-trained dog may have a bathroom mistake in an unfamiliar environment filled with other animals.
By implementing these pet-friendly guidelines above, your office can create a fun, safe and positive work environment for your employees and their beloved pets.
See more at: https://www.petsbest.com/blog/a-guide-to-making-your-office-pet-friendly/#sthash.JdyuWwVR.dpuf
About Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC
Jack L. Stephens, president of Pets Best, founded pet insurance in the U.S. in 1981 with a mission to end euthanasia when pet owners couldn’t afford veterinary treatment. Dr. Stephens went on to present the first U.S. pet insurance policy to famous television dog Lassie. Pets Best provides coverage for dogs and cats and is the only veterinarian founded and operated pet insurance agency in the United States. Dr. Stephens leads the Pets Best team with his passion for quality pet care and his expert veterinary knowledge. He is always available to answer questions regarding veterinarian medicine, pet health and pet insurance. The Pets Best team is a group of pet lovers who strive to deliver quality customer service and value. Visit www.petsbest.com for more information.
Way back in time, when I was at Primary School, one of the teachers bought her dog to school. It spent lessons under her desk and break time being walked round the playground.
I wish we had that at school!
Pets are needed at school/work more than ever. We really must finds ways to make it happen….
Indeed! 🙂
I’m lucky enough to work from home, she’ll often sleep on my lap while I’m typing away!
She gives me reason to have longer breaks too 🙂
Awwww! If only I could work from home haha. And oh I’ll need to send you an invite to do some guest stories for her 😉
I love this idea – though if I brought one of my cats to work they would constantly be walking over the keyboard. It would definitely reduce stress though!
And probably you’d still be more efficient as you’d get away with taking regular breaks. 😉