Dogs in the office cause disagreement

Before the pandemic, Becky did not imagine that one day she would take her dog to the office. But the lockdown made her change her mind. Becky (not her real name) not only realized “the great mental benefits” of having a pet around while working, she discovered that the surge in animal adoption during the pandemic has fueled competition for dog daycare services: now , going back to the office without your dog could cost you thousands of pounds a year.

However, Becky’s employer, a financial services company, had just moved into a London office where property owners do not allow four-legged friends. “None of the executives involved in the change have dogs. And the impression was that my company didn’t try to negotiate a change to that rule.” She is now studying her options. “In my next job, I will consider [a possibilidade de levar o cachorro ao trabalho] as a very important requirement,” she says. “Because it’s something that symbolizes the company’s culture.”

Taking the dog to work is not an entirely new habit: Sigmund Freud pointed out that his patients seemed to feel more comfortable when his chow chow, Jofi, was present at psychoanalysis sessions. But two trends now drive this idea even further: people’s growing attachment to their pets, which means they don’t want to leave them home alone all day; and the conviction of younger workers that work must offer more than just a wage and also reflect their identity more broadly.

Google’s worker code of conduct states that “the affection of our canine friends is an integral facet of our corporate culture.” In the UK, dogs now appear in hospitals, school common areas, lawyers’ chambers and startup offices. Will Smith, one of the founders of Tred, a company that offers ethical credit cards, takes Mayo, the golden retriever puppy he acquired during the lockdown, to the office three days a week. “I didn’t buy a dog for someone else to take care of,” Smith said.

But many large employers – including HSBC bank and audit groups Deloitte and PwC – have rules that completely ban dogs. JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has allowed customers’ dogs to enter his bank’s branches, but not employee dogs to enter the company’s headquarters. There is often an assumption that canine companions will mess up the focus or formality of the workplace, or bark during client meetings. Managers don’t quite know how to combine dogs and open-plan offices, or how to deal with workers who are allergic to animals, fear them, or have religious objections to their presence. In an effort to lure workers back into the office, those rules are facing pressure, and companies need to find ways to accommodate both those who love dogs and those who don’t.

Before the pandemic, about 45 dogs were present every day at the Vermont headquarters of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream maker — an average of one dog for every two workers, according to Lindsay Bumps, who works in the company’s marketing department. company and is part of the committee that regulates issues related to dogs. “If you don’t make it easy for dogs, you’re missing a huge opportunity to increase your staff engagement and a unique cultural experience, as well as a way to reduce some stress,” she says.

Ben & Jerry’s dogs are usually kept in workers’ offices or cubicles (isolated by low doors); they cannot go to most common areas of the office. The company operates on a three-off, then-exclusion rule to regulate any romp of animals. But Bumps said that in his nine years working for the company, only one or two dogs had failed to adapt to the office.

At Tred, Smith believes having a dog in the office has benefits. “You become more human in conversations,” he points out, and more memorable to outside contacts. Nestlé, which owns the Purina pet food brand, says that since it started allowing dogs to be brought to its UK headquarters in 2015, “the positive effects on our culture and office atmosphere have been immense”. Studies conducted at other companies link the presence of dogs to greater collaboration among staff.

But there is little research on the potentially negative aspects of the presence of dogs, says Joni Delanoeije, a researcher at KA Leuven University in Belgium. They include distraction and disputes between co-workers.

In fact, it is estimated that between 10% and 20% of people on the planet are allergic to dogs and cats. Often, co-workers’ concerns can be overcome through small adjustments. Oli Malmed, who takes his sprocker spaniel to the London office of PassFort, a compliance automation company, says he has had to deal with his dog’s barking, the distraction it causes and complaints from a pair of allergic colleagues. . “If we see one of these people, we have to go to a separate cubicle and stay there that day,” he said. Still, having the dog with him in the office “is a delight,” he says. “We’ve been through a couple of pretty horrible years, and leniency about that brings satisfaction.”

But having dogs in the office doesn’t always end well. An animal used to steal shoes from under other workers’ tables; the dog’s owner had to email his colleagues at the end of the day so they could retrieve the shoes. Another worker resigned, unhappy after a colleague’s dog spent all day sniffing between her legs.

Even people who love dogs can encounter difficulties. Henry Sands, executive director of political consultancy Sabi Strategy, took his Labrador, which weighs 32 kilograms, and his spaniel, which weighs 32 kilograms, to the office regularly, and they often jumped on distracted colleagues. “It was a nightmare. I spent all day apologizing.” He now avoids taking dogs, and is skeptical of the idea that managers need dogs to improve staff morale. “It’s not a real solution,” he says. In fact, after seeing that a colleague was bringing different dogs to the office each day, he realized that she was working as a pet sitter.

From the dog’s point of view, going to the office is probably more pleasant than being left at home. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home recommends that dogs not be left alone for more than four hours. Others argue that it depends on the individual dog, but that most of them prefer to have company. “We’ve bred dogs for generations and generations to make them want to be in the company of humans,” says Heather Bacon, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Veterinary at the University of Central Lancashire. Managers may worry about the nuisance, but “dogs should sleep 15 to 18 hours a day. They don’t need to be stimulated all the time,” she says.

However, not all dogs appreciate the office environment, let alone the way home from there. Some puppies have lacked socialization during the pandemic, and may find it difficult to adjust to an office.

For companies that still resist allowing dogs in, change can come from the top. “Often, it all starts when the boss brings his or her dog,” says Delanoeije. “And since he or she makes the rules, if he or she decides to bring a dog, other people will have to adapt.”

British Land and Landsec, two of the UK’s biggest commercial real estate companies, told the Financial Times they were open to discussing allowing pets into their buildings. One of British Land’s new projects in Paddington has “a special dog access aisle”, and a Landsec office in Victoria offers a therapy service for animals. Some companies, especially on the west coast of the United States, offer benefits to pet owners, including adoption assistance and leave when an animal dies.

Skeptics may wonder what more workers will want to bring into the office after their political views and their dogs. “People ask about bringing cats,” said Ben & Jerry’s Bumps. “Actually, a colleague asked me if she could bring a miniature pony. And I said yes, absolutely! The president of the company didn’t agree with the answer at the time.”