Make Work Pawsitively Better! ??

Why don’t more people take dogs to the office?? We hear about the advantages of dogs, good for smile, a boost of happiness (and Harvard says a happy me is 13% more productive at work).?

So I thought I’d take Hugo into work with me yesterday to see what happened.?

If you’re a dog mum/dad, imagine you just left a meeting discussing this years figures, you desperately need to get all creative on 'the project', but? feeling a little underwhelmed by it all because EBIT-ta-da whipped the wind from your sails.?

Then you look under your desk there's?Snoofy McDoodle bestest boy staring up at you wagging their tail like you’ve just returned from a four month trek across the Andes. You wander off for a 5 minute headclearing walk around the building and all is ok in the world, Snoofy made people smile, you smiled, we all smiled, creativity has returned and off we go.

Bringing your dog to work is still the exception in the workplace, I just wonder why can’t we put a little effort in and make it a tad more acceptable. From an employers point of view, allowing employees to bring their dogs to then office can actually have huge proven benefits, lower anxiety and stress, increase physical activity, increased engagement (this I experienced in buckets, people just kept coming up to say hi to him, then me).

Apparently it also encourages collaboration and teamwork, not sure exactly how it does that but it’s the most amazing ice breaker,? definitely fostered immediate friendships with other dog lovers keen to share about their pooches, and I’m sure the right dog could diffuse a hostile meeting environment in about 3 seconds flat.??

Would it make the office a more fun place to work, yes, could it attract the right kind of talent, possibly, as what if you're missing out on talent because your ideal worker only works in dog friendly places and you're not one? I'm old enough to remember the revolution in offices when free creches were built by companies to encourage the incredibly resourceful recent mums back to work. So why not this?

Could it, dare I say it, make people actually want to come to the office???

Now, from an owners point of view. You get to spend more time with your furry friend and you're probably saving time and money from not having to get up super early to take them out before work, or paying doggy day care or a dog walker (just take them out on your lunch break, you'll both benefit!).?

I heard this saying once which was dogs are only with you for a small percentage of your life, but you're there for the whole of theirs. So how important is bringing your dog to work for you given how long you spend there??

For those asking if I am considering people with allergies, or phobias.? I did on my day in london yesterday meet a lady on the train with a severe phobia of dogs, she freaked, Hugo and I immediately moved down ther carraige and when she was leaving the train she thanked me, apologised and smiled.? He was sat on a spare seat when there was one, had his paws wiped, and was on a waterproof matt to make sure no hairs got on the chair. We can coexist with a little awareness and compromise.? I met someone on a reception with allergies, easy, we stayed away, she was super cool. Smiles abound. No drama.

Mental health at work is a huge subject, work culture is enormous and you can find some amazing artcfiles on linkedin.? And although I have considerable experience of them, I’m in no way an expert, however I do think both can be positively impacted by our furry friends.???

I’d like to gently suggest people check around at work and ask if they can consider taking well behaved dogs into work, I found there was always someone ready to ‘watch him’ if I needed to go into a meeting unexpectedly, take a call or attend to a call of nature. ? My experience yesterday was people are generally amazing, kind and want to enjoy their day at work. And dogs bring out the best in people.??