Dog is man’s best friend in all areas of life, and that now includes the workplace. You may question how a dog can have any positive influence on a corporate environment, but a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University has revealed that taking a dog to work can help to benefit your wellness and wellbeing by reducing your stress levels and making you feel more positive about your place of work. You then have better job satisfaction and feel happier and more productive at work as a result.
It is well known that stress is one of the biggest causes of absenteeism in the workplace. Many high level professions see their employees suffering from burnout as they put too much into their jobs and then become incapable of functioning properly. Absenteeism costs companies millions of pounds in productivity and resources every year. The study, however, found that having dogs in the workplace reduced stress – and not just for the dog’s particular owners, but for all those who came into contact with the dog.
During the study, people who brought their pets to work were identified, and studied alongside those who had pets but did not bring them to work, and those who did not have pets at all. The factors that were looked at were stress, organisational commitment, job satisfaction and support.
The study was published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, and revealed that dogs in the workplace could have a positive impact on employee wellness and satisfaction. There were notable differences in stress between the days that the dog was present and the days that the dog was absent. Employees had higher job satisfaction as a whole when compared to other industry norms. The stress hormones of the employees, when measured through saliva, gave a clear indicator that having the dog on site was a positive thing for their wellbeing.
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