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(BPT) - If you’ve ever felt tense, anxious or simply unable to relax while performing your job, you’re far from alone.
A recent survey by the American In- stitute of Stress found 80 percent of U.S. workers across industries have felt stress in the workplace; nearly half say they could use help dealing with it and 42 percent said their co-workers could use some relief.
To the delight of animal lovers every- where, awareness of the physical, men-
tal and emotional toll taken by stress is leading progressive employers to create take-your-pet-to-work programs. For example, for the past 20 years Purina has encouraged its associates to bring their pets to work, and in a typical week hun- dreds of dogs and cats enjoy spending time with their owners at the pet food maker’s St. Louis campus.
“Pets bring a wealth of benefits - both physical and emotional - to pet owners and their families, so it’s no surprise those same benefits also apply to the workplace and employees,” notes Dr. Kurt Venator, Purina’s chief veterinary officer. “Whether a pet helps provide a calming sense during a challenging situation or encourages employees to take a walk during their lunch break, here at Purina we experience the benefits of pets at work every day, and want others to as well.”
As more and more companies adopt a pets-at-work policy, consider these facts based on a recent Purina report about the many advantages of such programs:
* They can benefit health: Pet-employee interaction has been shown to reduce the employees’ blood pressure and cholesterol
levels in addition to alleviating anxiety. * They can improve employee reten-
tion: Sixty-three percent of employees in pet-friendly workplaces say they’re very satisfied with their work environments
- nearly twice as many as those in other workplaces. In fact, respondents rank the option of bringing pets at work as the sec- ond most-valuable employee perk - more valuable than free coffee and parking. Overall, three in five survey participants wish their workplace would institute a pet-friendly policy.
* They can alleviate loneliness: Eight
in 10 employees who can bring pets to work say that activity makes them feel more happy, relaxed and sociable. That’s partly because talking about pets can be an ice breaker, making it easier for people to approach co-workers and get to know them better.
* They can promote physical activi-
ty: Many employees spend breaks and lunchtime playing with their pets or taking them for walks, boosting their own aerobic activity at the same time.
* They can increase pets’ happiness: Rather than staying home waiting for their owners to arrive, pets get to socialize with new people, play with other pets and enjoy more activity. Nearly nine of 10 people in the survey agree that bringing their pets to work strengthens owner-pet bonding.
In light of the proven benefits, Purina encourages other employers to consider allowing pets in the workplace. A toolkit with tips and information is provided at Purina.com.
“Our goal with our report is to contin- ue to raise awareness of the benefits of taking pets to work and to arm employees and employers with insights that can help facilitate pet-friendly environments within their companies,” notes Dr. Venator.
After June 23, please take out this por- tion of the introduction: “In celebration of National Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 23.”
Got stress? Bringing your pet to work can help
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