Puppy Power – my experience bringing a pet to work

Earlier this month I had the immense pleasure of participating in a Wellness Initiative at SRG. Why so pleasurable you ask? Because I got to bring a puppy into the workplace! I’m part of our Wellness Committee and throughout the year we do special activities and hold events to help with the health and wellness of our employees. I have to say, this initiative was definitely my favourite!

Imagine if you will, sitting at your desk in a fairly quiet office and suddenly the front door opens and a pink ball bounces in, followed by a rumbly tumbly puppy, decked out in a little white shirt reading ‘The Stress Buster’. What the what? But, that’s just what happened. Our committee visited all 7 of our Canadian locations with a committee member’s puppy, Tehya. She’s a Bull Mastiff Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and she is FULL of love!

The reaction? Nothing but smiles and surprise. It was wonderful! Everyone was immediately uplifted, interactive and very playful with Tehya, getting right down on the floor to visit with her. Which lead immediately to lots and lots of puppy kisses. She ran around and visited everyone with such exuberance that you couldn’t help but laugh. She was so happy and it rubbed off on all our employees. No matter what was happening in each office, every employee (and even a visiting client!) came over to pet Tehya and show her love and enjoy her company. There was instant happiness and a feeling of well-being in all of the offices.

How could a simple animal bring such joy? Well, studies show that bringing a pet to work can have a huge impact on employee morale. It can lower stress and increase enthusiasm. Employees feel the unconditional bond with an animal and, in turn, it actually motivates them to do better at work. We saw this even over the two days. Some busier employees did have to get right back to their computers and phones, but it was with a smile on their face. It had really made a difference in their day. If this is an option in your office, I highly recommend it from first-hand experience.

Now, unfortunately, this isn’t something that we could do long term. We work with the public and many of our locations are leased, so having a permanent pet in the office isn’t feasible. But, it certainly made a few hours of everyone’s day a little more enjoyable and a lot more relaxed. And it definitely increased our mental wellness, even if just for a few hours!

Additional Sources:
http://www.business.com/management/pets-in-the-workplace-is-it-a-good-or-bad-idea/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/01/bringing-dog-to-work-stress_n_1391420.html