Should pets be allowed in the workplace?

Yes

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by (( Nikki ))

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In today's society, work and home are fast becoming intertwined. Despite numerous work/life balance initiatives and the trend for work at home support and flexible scheduling, employees are being asked to give more and more of their time to help their company. To many of those employees, their pets are family. Being able to bring their pets to work to ensure the needs of the animal are met would be a huge perk. No more needing to rush home to let the dog out. No more pet parent guilt over leaving Fido home all day alone.

While there are certainly many businesses where pets would be an extreme nuisance, there are just as many, if not more, where they could easily fit into the structure of a well-defined pet-friendly policy.

== What are the benefits? ==

Pets can decrease blood pressure, keep people calmer, increase socialization opportunities, increase cooperation, and reduce stress levels. Therapy dogs are taken into hospitals and other places that animals are not allowed because health workers know what a huge benefit they are to patients. Dogs can help kids learn to read and cats can help the elderly communicate.

Pets in the workplace can foster a more productive work environment with less absenteeism and employees willing to work longer hours. Companies that allow pets have reported higher employee morale. Small businesses seem far more likely to allow owners this perk.

== What about allergies? ==

While every effort can be taken to ensure the environment is kept as clean as possible, there would be allergens in the air and on surfaces. This is true for any allergen. People allergic to anything are going to find it somewhere. No workplace can account for every allergen, be it pet dander from the resident cat lady to peanut exposure from someone's sandwich. Some people are allergic to perfume - does that mean no one should be allowed to wear perfume?

== What about poorly behaved animals? ==

Rules govern how people are expected to behave in the workplace. The same holds true for pets. Animals that are used to social situations are far calmer than those that are kept in a little box all day long. If an animal is acting poorly, it simply wouldn't be allowed to come in any longer. Badly behaved animals and their irresponsible owners are no reason to judge, or punish, all the well-behaved pets.

When is the last time you saw a service animal acting like an ass? Have you heard about those killer Golden Retrievers? Of course not. Training and socialization from an early age make for outstanding pets. It's the dogs that never get to go anywhere but their back yard that act like morons. The more we confine dogs, the more neurotic they get.

I would address other pets, but it's always the dogs that people seem concerned about when it comes to "problem children".

== Your cat vs. my dog ==

Remember those rules we talked about? Only animals that are tolerant of other animals would be allowed. If animals are socialized, they do not have a problem here. Humans create the problem by never exposing the pets to other animals, or worse, thinking that it's funny when they fight. A civilized and responsible pet-friendly workplace would encourage cooperation in scheduling visits and only allow friendly pets.

As the owner of dogs and cats, and a regular patron of a barn that has dogs and cats, I can attest that it is indeed possible for strange animals to accept one another, even if acceptance simply means letting each other alone.

== Health issues ==

I don't know about you, but my home is clean and my pets are regularly groomed. My guests don't require extra perfume, nor do they seem to feel the need to immediately go home and change their clothes.

Part of a good pet-friendly policy would require hygiene, and would include rules about cleaning any messes made by one's pet.

Dirty pets would not be allowed in a pet-friendly workplace any more than dirty employees. If an employee doesn't adhere to personal hygiene requirements, they generally don't last very long. Neither would pet privileges for poorly groomed pets.

Well-behaved pets are a pleasure to have around, whether in the park, at a store, or yes, even at work. The more we allow pets to be part of our lives and families, and the more the lines between work and home blur, the more demand there will be to account for that relationship in the workplace.

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