This Friday, there’s going to be a little more barking and growling than usual in offices across the country. That’s because June 22 is the 20th annual PSI’s Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWDay).
Take Your Pet To Work Week is also being celebrated all week long so that offices closed on Friday and pet parents of other species can participate.
TYDTWDay is observed every year on the Friday after Father’s Day. It was created in 1999 by Pet Sitters International (PSI) as a way to “celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs,” according to PSI.
Unfortunately, some employers have to say no to TYDTWDay because of building codes, liability issues, allergies and other legitimate reasons. But your company still can celebrate by, for example, having a pet photo contest or a fundraiser for a local shelter.
“While TYDTWDay offers a fun opportunity to have dogs at work, its purpose since the inaugural celebration has always been to encourage pet adoptions,” said Beth Stultz, PSI vice-president and TYDTWDay spokeswoman. “We hear from participating companies that partner with local shelters or rescue groups to allow them to bring in adoptable pets, host benefit luncheons or charity auctions, or plan contests such as dog-owner lookalike competitions to raise money for local pet-related organizations.”
To convince your employer to observe Take Your Dog to Work Day, here are three helpful talking points.
1. Dogs Boost Employee Morale
Studies prove that dogs in the workplace can boost employee morale, increase productivity and even help improve sales. Employees say having dogs around increases their creativity, decreases their absenteeism and enables everyone to get along better.
A 2012 Virginia Commonwealth University study found that employees who brought their dogs to work had lower levels of cortisol, a stress-increasing hormone.
2. Pet-Friendly Workplaces Are Trendy
More and more workplaces are allowing employees to bring their dogs, including the offices of Google, Mashable, Etsy and Ben & Jerry’s. A 2015 Society for Human Resource Management survey found that 8 percent of American workplaces are pet friendly (up from 5 percent in 2013). This number is expected to continue growing as millennials — who will soon surpass baby boomers as the largest pet-owning generation, according to PSI — will make up almost half of the workforce by 2020.
3. Employees Stay Longer When Dogs Are Around
This fact should really seal the deal: 46 million people said that when they bring their dogs to work, they work longer hours, according to a 2008 survey by the American Pet Products Association.
Good luck! Here’s hoping everything goes so smoothly that your employer will decide that every day will be Take Your Dog to Work Day.
Photo: Pet Sitters International