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| Even employees without dogs wanted to take colleagues' pets for a walk |
Bringing
pet dogs to work can reduce stress and make the job more satisfying for other
employees, a study suggests.
US
researchers found those with access to dogs were less stressed as the day went
on than those who had none.
The
preliminary study published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management looked at 75 staff.
The
researchers suggested access to dogs boosted morale and reduced stress levels,
whether people had access to their own pets or other people's.
The study
was carried out by a team of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University
who looked at a manufacturing company where people are allowed to bring their
pets to work.
They
compared those who brought in their own pets, with those who had dogs - but
left them at home - and staff who did not own pets.
Over a
week, the researchers compared employees' stress levels, job satisfaction and
feelings about support from and commitment to the company.
Pooch power
Stress
hormone levels were measured using saliva samples during the day.
In the
morning, there was no difference between the three groups.
But during
the course of the work day, stress levels appeared to decline for employees
with their dogs present and increased for non-pet owners and dog owners who did
not bring their dogs to work.
The
researchers also noted that stress rose significantly during the day when
owners left their dogs at home compared to days they brought them to work.
Randolph
Barker, lead study author and professor of management at the VCU School of
Business, said dogs can make a positive difference in the workplace.
"The
differences in perceived stress between days the dog was present and absent
were significant. The employees as a whole had higher job satisfaction than
industry norms."
Prof Barker
said having dogs around the workplace may contribute to employee performance
and satisfaction.
And he
reported positive comments from employees such as "pets in the workplace
can be a great bonus for employee morale", "having dogs here is great
stress relief" and "dogs are positive; dogs increase co-worker
cooperation."
Past
research has shown that stress can contribute to employee absenteeism and
burnout. It can also result in significant loss of productivity.
Louise Lee,
spokesperson at pet charity Blue Cross said they have always promoted the
benefits of dogs in the workplace.
"We
encourage our employees to bring in their well-behaved dogs where practical and
we have seen similar results to the survey - a more enjoyable working
environment, staff more likely to take regular breaks and a reduction in stress
through stroking and petting dogs during the working day.
"The
dogs themselves are also much happier as they are not being left at home for
long periods of time."
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