Since the end of health restrictions and telework, some companies allow their employees to bring their dog to their workplace to facilitate the return to the office. Examples in Ottawa.
The management of Tungsten Collaborative, a Canadian design company, encourages its employees to take their dog with them to the office. Above, one of his four-legged collaborators: “Nature” the husky.
AFP
Emma Inns, owner of Adorit Boutique in Ottawa, didn’t need to convince her colleagues of the benefits of having a pooch in her workplace.
AFP
From the top of her four legs, her tail wagging as visitors arrive, “Daisy” looks following the well-being of the team at Tungsten Collaborative in Ottawa. The dog, like many other pets, has the right to come to the office with her master, who worked from home during the pandemic. The 12-year-old blonde-haired Labrador sniffs the workspace for something to eat or play with. In this Canadian design company which has regarding ten employees, other dogs roam, such as “Delilah”, the basset hound, “Eevee” the English greyhound, and “Hudson”, a German shepherd puppy, who barks for get noticed.
“Daisy” is an “integral part” of the company. On the company’s website, she poses among the members of the team and even has the right to a short biography. “We encourage people who have pets to bring them” to the office, says Tungsten Collaborative President Bill Dicke. “You develop this relationship with your pet at home and all of a sudden you go back to work, and they have to be crated for the day or wander around the house alone,” laments the 47-year-old handler, who feels that this “ is not fair” for the animal. According to him, the pandemic has made companies more tolerant of the presence of pets at work.
More productivity
In the office kitchen, bowls arranged in a row on the floor are used to water the dogs during the day. The latter sometimes sleep at the foot of chairs, chew on toys or run towards a bouncing ball in the hallway. Adding Tungsten Collaborative to the Humane Society’s list of dog-friendly businesses has boosted business activity and increased staff productivity, Dicke said.
According to a recent Léger poll conducted for PetSafe, one in two Canadians (51%) supports the idea of bringing their dog to the office. This proposal is particularly appreciated by the youngest: 18% of employees aged 18 to 24 say that they would change company if their employer refused them this option. Faced with the approximately 200,000 Canadians who have adopted a cat or a dog during the pandemic, bosses who demand the return in person of their employees might be forced to consider relaxations.
“He loves coming to work”
Still in Ottawa, this time within the construction joint venture Chandos Bird, the designers of a nuclear research laboratory are visibly thrilled by the presence of Samson, a 10-year-old blond Yorkshire terrier. His master, Trevor Watt, did not want to leave him alone in his new home as he returned to the office in January. Bringing him in was supposed to be a temporary solution. Not only did he adapt to office life, but he also won over his master’s colleagues, who now share walks with Samson. “He loves coming to work,” says Trevor Watt, who appreciates “not having to worry regarding him.”
But the presence of man’s best friend at work can pose certain challenges, for example for employees allergic to animals or those who are afraid of them. Samson stays on a leash when Trevor Watt’s colleague, terrified of dogs, is there.
(AFP)