The bonding between humans and animals dates back to the ancient times. Humans rely on animals for many tasks such as security, rescue, recovery, as well as medical support. When it comes to such helpful animals, dogs stay at the top of the chain due to their intelligence, emotional perception, and loyalty. In modern times, dogs are also a part of workplaces as they can significantly reduce mental health issues at the workplace while improving productivity.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 12 billion working days are lost every year to mental health issues like anxiety and depression which brings huge loss in productivity, costing damage up to $1 trillion. Emotional support dogs can help to improve these numbers by calming employees and boosting their moods. New dog-friendly workplace policies are accepted by dynamic industries as they are more likely to have dogs that can help their workforce stay healthy and work well.
Why Dogs are Important at Workplaces?
There are a handful of advantages of keeping a support dog at the workplaces. Let’s find out.
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Lowering Stress Levels
According to the experts, petting a dog can help to reduce cortisol levels and stress in humans. The furry folks can help to improve hormone associated stress and anxiety while offering a more calm and relaxed work environment. Petting a dog can help to generate more oxytocin hormone that keeps humans relaxed, happy and motivated about their respective jobs.
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Room for Breaks and Regular Activities
Stuck inside four walls for eight hours a day sounds quite claustrophobic and every employee needs to take comfort breaks that help them get back into the groove. The presence of dogs can encourage taking regular breaks and helps to boost productivity for all. Taking out the dog for a walk or interacting with others offers more organic human value in a job where you might have to seat in front of digital screen for the whole day.
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Happier Workforce
As mentioned before, dogs help to enhance the release of oxytocin which offers a positive attitude and a greater job satisfaction for all kinds of individuals. Office dogs are capable of breaking the social barriers and boosts human morale, communication and unity.
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Enhanced Team Dynamics
There are many times when a team faces conflicts due to different opinions of members in the team. Even if the colleagues do not get along, dogs at office stop the conflict by removing all the negative tension. Dogs are known to social catalysts and they can put everyone on a happy mood. Therefore, they can help to improve collaboration among the team members.
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Improved Work-life Balance
Productivity at workplace can be improved when employees are actually enjoying their work and coming to the workplace on a daily basis. A dog-friendly workplace can offer home-like comfort as employees can bring their dogs to work and feel more homely. It keeps them more connected and satisfied rather than being exhausted and drained every day.
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Retaining Employees
A pet-friendly workplace environment is always attractive to employees and offering this feature can help to improve hiring program as more potential individuals might opt for it. Animal-friendly work environment can also help to retain employees as they might not get the same facility in another company. They are more likely to stay in a company that allows them to pet dogs at office rather than a company that has zero tolerance for pets.
Final Thoughts
This fast-paced digital age, stress and anxiety is only increasing among the working people. With renewed pet policies of keeping dogs at workplace is truly revolutionizing the work pattern and environment while improving mental health for all.
