Paws for Thought: Why Allowing Dogs in the Office is a Good Idea
Having a ruff day? Research has shown that canine colleagues can improve staff wellbeing and productivity
This originally appeared on The Guardian
In the large lobby of Nestlé’s corporate headquarters not far from Gatwick, Max, Reggie and Bella are sniffing each other. This is not an unusual sight in the glass building, especially at lunchtime. “You can see they’re all friends,” says Odette Forbes, head of media relations, as the three circle each other, tails wagging.
It’s been 16 months since Nestlé began allowing its 1,000-plus employees to bring their dogs into its City Place headquarters daily. So far, 56 staff have chosen to go through the company’s three-step “pawthorisation” process. This involves a detailed questionnaire about their dog’s habits and behavioural evaluations, both at home and in the office, by an independent dog specialist. The dog then joins Nestlé’s PAW (Pets at Work) programme and gets its own “passpawt”.
Employees can choose to bring their dogs (AKA canine colleagues) to meetings in designated dog-friendly rooms or let them off the leash in the newly created garden, Central Bark. Most of the time, however, the dogs lounge around on large cushions, chewing on company-provided toys and treats, their long leads fastened to metal hoops in the floor by their owners’ desks. “It’s like having a member of your family in the office,” says Forbes, owner of Reggie the beagle. “There’s something about it that feels so right.”
Nestlé owns Purina, the pet food brand, so presenting the company as dog-friendly is good PR and attracting animal-loving employees makes business sense.
