Paws for thought: The top 5 ways your dog might boost your mental wellbeing at work!

“The trouble with the office is that there aren’t enough dogs in it.”

This was one candidate’s response when we were chatting about what might entice them back into the workplace.

And that got us thinking.

What if those puppy dog eyes were the answer to the work from home crisis?

According to World Animal Protection, there are 5 key ways Dogs help our mental health.?We’ve given them a work-based spin below!

Dogs get us out of the house. Dogs find everything exciting, even Monday mornings.?Walk? Yeah!?Treat? Yah!?Go to the office??YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!?Plus who doesn’t love to see a derpy dog sticking its face out of a window in a traffic jam??

Dogs help us build a routine. ?If you’re someone who struggles to top and tail your day (see what we did there ??) or say NO to a pushy boss, dogs are the ultimate waggy wake up call.?Once the clock hits 5.30 they’re outta there and so are you!

Dogs help to keep you calm.?Lockdown and modern living have taken a real toll on our mental health.?Some of us only noticed how stressed we were when we were forced to stop. Having your best buddy on-site has been found to significantly lower the level of stress hormones in the blood and with it, your anxiety levels.?

Dogs make us feel proud.?It takes a lot to keep our dogs happy and healthy so every time someone passes by our desk to give our dog a pat or a compliment, we also get a little bit of love.?People who never knew we existed are suddenly stopping by our desk to say ‘hi’. If we had a tail, we’d wag it.

Dogs are there for you. Bad day in the office??Worry not.?Your dog knows.?He/she has been sitting patiently observing your mood and offering up his/her head for a scratch at just the right time to give you a quick reset and some supportive endorphins.?

Are we barking mad??Maybe not!

We speak to people every day who tell us they prefer to work from home so they don’t have to leave their dog behind (aww!).

With a doggy population explosion over lockdown its no surprise that man's best friend has taken over our hearts, homes and now our workplaces.

And it's not like it's a new thing either, dogs have been helping us out for more than 16,000 years!

Smart businesses are all over this with ‘bring your dog to work’ days.

But what do you think? Would having your dog at work be too much of a distraction or the perfect motivation? We want to know!?