Wednesday, July 1, 2015

How to Join the Pets at Work Movement and Reduce Workplace Stress #PetsatWork

This post is sponsored by Purina. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Pets at Work movement but To Dog With Love only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.  The opinions expressed herein are 100% our own. 

Last Friday was National Take Your Dog to Work Day, and our pals at Purina celebrated it in a BIG way! While every day is bring your pet to work day for Purina associates (don't you wish your company had a pets at work program?), last Friday, 280 Purina associates brought their pets to work in an attempt to set a RecordSetter.com world record for most pets in the workplace on one day!

 Many of the associates gathered for a group photo with their pets outside of Purina’s tower building in St. Louis
to celebrate the day. Photo courtesy of Nestlé Purina.
The word is still out whether the record was officially broken -- it still needs to be verified. But regardless of the outcome, the real winners are the people and their pets who get to attend work together every day.


Studies have shown that employees who bring their pets to work tend to have a lower stress level by the end of the day, and that having pets can help reduce blood pressure, decrease loneliness, help to lower cholesterol levels and encourage physical activity. 

"At Purina, we believe that pets and people are better together – whether at home or at work," said Dr. Kurt Venator, a Purina veterinarian. "As pet lovers and owners, we are passionate about the Pets at Work movement and encourage our associates to bring their pets to work every day so they can experience the benefits, including exercise from a dog walk during lunch break or having a calming companion nearby during stressful times. This is why we see hundreds of pets at our St. Louis campus every week."
Purina associate Randy Beck, Marketing Director of Cat Chow, enjoys some snuggle time
with his Boston Terrier/Border Collie Mix, Snoopy

Pets at work help reduce employee stress


Studies show that employees who bring pets to work have fewer signs of stress.1 To get a better understanding of how people felt about pets in the workplace, Purina partnered with the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine to conduct a U.S. survey in June 2015 and found among 750 respondents: 2
  • Almost two out of three employees agree pets should be allowed in the workplace if there is a general consensus among employees 
  • 85 percent of employees of companies with pets in the office say that pets at work policies are beneficial 
  • 72 percent of employees said that their jobs currently do not allow pets in the workplace 
  • More than half of those who want pets allowed in the office are willing to spearhead efforts to make their workplaces pet friendly  
"The relationship humans and animals share is dynamic and over the years it has been shown that the bond can be beneficial to the well-being of both," said Dr. Sharon Fooshee Grace, clinical professor at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. "Through this survey, we now have a real opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the human-animal bond and how to maximize the potential of the special relationships shared between people and pets."


Join the Pets at Work Movement


For 17 years, Purina has recognized the benefits of allowing employees to bring their pets to work and launched “Pets at Work” in 2012 with the goal of educating and helping other employers and facility managers adopt pet-friendly policies. 

Purina celebrates Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 26 at the Purina headquarters in St. Louis to show
how pets and people are better together at work. (PRNewsFoto/Purina)
Purina is calling for other employers to join the Pets at Work movement by asking companies to pledge their intent to implement their own pets at work program. The company has developed resources to help other companies become more pet-friendly, including an Employer Toolkit with tips and documents to help employers implement a pets at work program. The toolkit includes an etiquette guide, office checklist and an authorization and release form, among other helpful resources. 


Purina has also provided pet lovers with their own Employee Toolkit to help encourage facility managers and employers to embrace pets in the workplace and recognize the positive impacts it can have on employees and the overall business. Employees can get access to tips, articles, printable guidelines and a petition to help make their workplace pet friendly. 

To learn more at Pets at Work and to download the toolkits visit www.purina.com/better-with-pets/pets-at-work.  Employers and employees can also show support by tagging their photos on social media with the #PetsatWork hashtag. 

1 Randolph T. BarkerJanet S. KniselySandra B. BarkerRachel K. CobbChristine M. Schubert, (2012) "Preliminary investigation of employee's dog presence on stress and organizational perceptions", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 5 Iss: 1, pp.15 - 30.
2 Penn Schoen Berland. 2015 Purina Pet at Work Survey. 2015.

Does your workplace allow pets?
Would you spearhead efforts to make your workplace pet friendly?
Let us know in the comments below!

7 comments:

  1. Take Your Pet To Work is one swell organisation.

    sumskersandearlskers13.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Since Mom works mostly from home, we are at work, but sometimes when she goes into the office she takes one of us with her too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm lucky I work at a vet clinic and I can bring my pets anytime.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We sure wish we could go to work with mom
    Lily & Edward

    ReplyDelete
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