by Susan McCullough
For all too many people, guilt is a big part of their relationships with their pets. A survey conducted last year by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) indicated that 76 percent of American pet owners feel guilty over leaving their pets at home alone.
At first glance, Maggie Monaghan appears to typify these guilt-ridden pet owners. Although she's devoted to her six-year-old beagle, Nutmeg, Monaghan's public relations job at Domino's Pizza in Ann Arbor, Michigan, requires her to put in long days, and sometimes nights, at the office. Most owners in Monaghan's position find those long hours away from home also mean long hours away from their pets.
For Monaghan and Nutmeg, though, time at work doesn't always mean time apart. "I can bring Nutmeg to work with me," explains Monaghan. "If I have to work late, I can run home and get her." Monaghan is doing what the AAHA says 1 out of 4 pet owners do to assuage their guilt over leaving their pets home alone: they take their pets to work with them.
The presence of companion animals in workplaces isn't an altogether new phenomenon. For example, many home-based business persons share their offices with their pets. Increasingly, however, workers at corporations such as Domino's are enjoying the benefits of having their animal companions with them at the workplace. Typical of the corporations that allow pets in their offices is Autodesk, the computer software manufacturer headquartered in San Rafael, California.
The Autodesk Pet Policy
Autodesk has welcomed employees' pets since its start in 1982. A visit to the company's web site shows how much pride Autodesk takes in offering this benefit: the "Autodesk Culture" page sports a picture of a Dalmatian sitting in an office chair. The policy extends mainly to dogs, although cats and even iguanas have reportedly spent time at the company.
"The ability to bring a dog to Autodesk is a unique part of our culture," confirms Autodesk spokesperson Kathy Tom Engle. "In the tradition of high-tech startups, the company had some aspects that made it unique. Allowing employees to bring their pets was one of those unique elements that remain with us today."
Employees who bring their pets to Autodesk must follow certain rules. Dogs must be leashed and need to stay with their owner or designated pet sitter at all times. Off-limits areas include bathrooms and company cafeterias; dogs with fleas aren't allowed at the company at all. The same goes for dogs that bark or behave aggressively. Dog-owning Autodesk employees are expected to clean up after their dogs inside and outside the buildings, although, as evidence of the company's pet friendliness, all receptionists keep doggy bags on hand to help unprepared owners with outdoor cleanups. In addition, a dog that has three indoor accidents isn't allowed to come to the office until the owner can show that the animal has completed a training program.
Kathy Tom Engle says that employees are very good about following the rules. "The dog owners are a self-policing group," she explains. "They know the benefit can be taken away at any time there are complaints or problems with the dogs. For this reason, everyone is very conscientious."
"There is no barking in the office," Tom Engle adds. "On any given day, you could walk into our facilities and never know there are pets there. Owners with dogs that bark simply do not test the policy by bringing in their pets. They don't want to ruin it for everyone else. The same applies to all the rules."
The Autodesk pet policy can even prompt employees to acquire pets for the first time. That happened to Catherine Crosbie, a software engineer who's worked at Autodesk for four years.
"I wasn't aware of the policy before I came here," Crosbie says. "In fact, I didn't have a dog. But after being here for two years, I decided I just had to get one."
Today, Crosbie's two-year-old smooth-haired fox terrier, Kaya, joins her human companion at the office at least once a week. There, Kaya sleeps in her own bed under Crosbie's desk. Crosbie takes Kaya out for a bathroom break every couple of hours; at lunch, the two enjoy 10 to 15 minutes of ball playing.
Having Kaya at the office brings pleasure not only to Crosbie but also to Crosbie's co-workers. "My co-workers wonder where Kaya is if I don't bring her in. Many people here don't have dogs and get their 'fix' by playing with the dogs at work."
Kathy Tom Engle is one of those employees who enjoys getting a doggie fix. "I don't have a pet," she says, "but my colleague across the hall has a puppy. It is great to have him here, and to be honest, we miss him when he doesn't come. Visitors come by just to pet the puppy and play a little bit."
How Pets and People Help Each Other
However, the presence of a pet in the office can do more than simply provide pleasure, as Diane Vasey, an editor with the American Kennel Club (AKC) in New York City, has found. Vasey, who edits the AKC's bimonthly magazine, has four dogs which she occasionally brings to work: Sparky and Capuccio, both of whom are papillions; Eve, a golden retriever; and Mia, a cocker spaniel. The dogs not only help reduce the stress that comes with Vasey's demanding, deadline-driven job, they also help her to work more effectively with other people.
"I can read someone's body language by how they treat my dog," Vasey explains. For example, at the start of a meeting with a co-worker, Vasey might observe that the co-worker is petting her dog rapidly as he speaks. Then, as the person relaxes, the strokes become slower and more gentle. "That's a signal to me that I can move from the rapport-building stage of a meeting to the business at hand."
Dogs aren't the only animals that can defuse the stresses of daily office life. Public relations agency owner Aphrodite Clamar of New York City has found that her feline co-worker, Barney Cat Cohen, has a similar effect on her staff, who must contend with deadlines and demanding clients on a daily basis.
"He's a very social animal," Clamar says of Barney, who's been commuting regularly to the agency for three years. In a letter to Delta Executive Director, Linda Hines, Clamar explains that Barney is "a mellowing influence, occasioning chuckles and momentary relaxation" from the relentless pressures of public relations work.
In addition to running her agency, Clamar, a clinical psychologist, also has a limited number of patients. Barney assists her here, too. Her patients "insist that he sit in on counseling and therapy sessions. They say he helps them relax and discuss their problems more freely."
Other office-going animals play somewhat more direct roles in their workplaces. For example, at some animal shelters, dogs or cats serve as ambassadors to the public who charm visitors and educate the public as well as improve employee morale. One such animal is Wilson Boulevard, a cat who has been the resident mascot of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Virginia, for 15 years. The large, gray striped cat—who's named for the street from which he was rescued—greets visitors to the shelter and has his own business cards available at the front desk.
Pam Tighe, a senior project manager at the AKC's office in Raleigh, North Carolina, believes that animals benefit from being at the office as much as their human companions do. As an example, Tighe has found that Brio, her soft-coated Wheaten Terrier puppy, is becoming very well-socialized because she spends time at work with Tighe.
"Brio has the opportunity to get used to different things, such as machinery," Tighe explains. "One time, Brio got tangled up in some computer cables—even though I kept telling her to stay away from them—and ended up pulling my computer mouse directly onto her head. Since then, she's stayed away from the computer cables."
Another company that opens its doors to pets is the Kong Company, a dog toy manufacturer located in Golden, Colorado. Kong spokesperson Nesa Abraham reports that six of the company's 30 employees bring their dogs to work. In addition, the company offers tours of its facilities for dogs and their human companions.
Still another pet-friendly workplace is The Partnership Group, a human resources consulting firm based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. About four of The Partnership Group's 80 employees occasionally bring their pets to work, reports founder Tyler Phillips. The firm's pet policy began with Phillips' own dog, a Dalmatian named Lombard who passed away early this year.
"My wife had a busy schedule and someone had to be responsible for our dog," Phillips recalls. Consequently, he started taking Lombard to work with him.
Phillips found that "Lombard's presence became a catalyst for comradery at the firm. While I haven't consciously tried to create a family-type feeling here, I have tried to create an informal, flexible, responsive culture." Phillips believes that Lombard helped in that effort.
Phillips' effort to create a flexible culture in his company flows from his experience as a young supervisor at a large engineering company in the early 1970s. One of Phillips' subordinates asked to take time off so that he could be with his dachshund on the day that the dog was scheduled to undergo back surgery. Phillips allowed the subordinate to take the day off—only to find himself called on the carpet by his supervisor.
"I tried to explain to this guy that to many people, their pets are like their children, but he didn't buy that," Phillips recalls. "The whole incident was representative of how blind people can be to the importance of pets in other people's lives."
Spreading the Word
Phillips and The Partnership Group haven't kept their pet-friendliness to themselves. The firm helps other companies increase their flexibility by expanding their benefits packages. Frequently, those companies find themselves considering whether or not to let employees bring their pets to work.
Often, the effort to open a company's doors to pets runs into obstacles. Phillips frequently finds that executives fear that the animals will cause productivity-sapping disruptions. "But that very rarely is the case," Phillips says.
Maggie Monaghan of Domino's agrees. "The types of people who care enough to bring their animals to work are the types of people who have well-socialized animals."
At the AKC, Pam Tighe says that employees "understand the importance of their dogs being good citizens. They understand that if they're not careful, they can lose the privilege of bringing their dogs to work."
At the same time, those companies that do allow people to bring their pets to work may have an edge over more traditional companies when it comes to recruiting and retaining workers. As Autodesk's Catherine Crosbie explains, " I certainly would think twice about leaving [Autodesk], and I think that is something the company benefits from."
In today's highly competitive corporate environment, it's noteworthy when a policy that benefits a company also benefits employees and other family members. A successful corporate pet policy can offer exactly that. The result is a workplace in which everyone-the company, the employee and the pet-comes up a winner.
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