Friday, June 23rd is Take Your Dog to Work Day. It's like that everyday at my job but for those whose bosses aren't as accepting, maybe they'll make an exception today. From the Miami Herald:
Launched eight years ago by Pet Sitters International, a trade association representing 7,500 professional sitters, the day aims to promote the human/animal bond and focus on the plight of shelter pets.''Take Your Dog to Work Day is about confronting the realities of pet overpopulation in a positive and proactive way,'' said Pet Sitters President Patti Moran. ''People bringing their dogs to work,'' as well as businesses allowing shelters to bring in adoptable pets, ``can make a huge difference in pet adoptions around the world.''
Many studies have shown that animals make a huge difference in humans' moods by reducing tension and anxiety.
On a typical day at Tellme Networks Inc., Jackson snores, Penny spends time learning Chinese and the bosses and workers are delighted.Penny, a Labrador Retriever, and Jackson, a bulldog, are part of an effort at many U.S. companies to allow pets in the workplace. One survey shows nearly one in five U.S. companies allow pets at work.
Millions of Americans believe pets on the job lower absenteeism and encourage workers to get along, according to the survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
Pets at Tellme, an Internet telecommunications company, help workers become friends, said Grant Shirk, whose dog Penny is learning Chinese commands from a colleague.
[...]
Dozens of dogs come to work with their owners at Replacements, Ltd., said Scott Fleming, president of the company that deals in china, crystal, silver and collectibles in McLeansville, North Carolina.
"They have not broken a single piece, which is more than I can say for the rest of us," Fleming said.
Pet-friendly environments can pay off in a competitive job market, said Phil Carpenter, vice president of marketing at Simply Hired, an online jobs database that has added an option for job-seekers to select a dog-friendly company.
More than 400 companies — among them Google Inc. — have listed themselves as dog-friendly, he said.
"Companies hire in-house masseuses to in-house chefs. Why not take this step and allow people to bring a companion that's really important to them in their lives?" he said.
A survey by Simply Hired and Dogster, an online site, found a third of dog-owners would take a 5 percent pay cut to take their pets to work, two-thirds would work longer hours and half would switch jobs.