Take Your Dog To Work Day Has Employees Wagging Their Tails

Now meet the next big innovation at your office – Take Your Dog  To Work Day.

Whoever comes up with these ideas has declared Friday as the official occasion to bring your pet with you to the office. And while it may seem like a far fetched idea depending on what you do, it’s actually been around for eight years.

And some business experts suggest there’s a good reason for more companies to let the fur fly during your 9-5 routine.

A survey taken by online job site Simply Hired and its web counterpart Dogster suggests a third of all dog owners admit they’d be willing to take a five percent pay cut if they could bring their best friend to work with them on a daily basis.

Two thirds were willing to work longer hours if Fido was nearby, and half claimed they’d switch jobs for a more canine-friendly environment.

And in an increasingly competitive market, the list of companies that are listening is growing. More than 400 firms in the U.S., for example, now list themselves as ‘dog friendly’  to prospective employees.

“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?” wonders Simply Hired’s Phil Carpenter.

Humane societies also support the idea, noting dogs are social animals and are better off with their owners than lying around the house all day waiting for someone to come home.

Jaymer Delapena works for a company called Tellme Networks that allows this paws for thought. He claims people have taken the concept to heart in a big way, even inviting the four footed guests to business meetings.

“I’ll be walking past a conference room and look inside and my dog is sitting in a chair around a table,” he reveals.

There are drawbacks of course. There’s the potential for barking and interruption, fighting amongst territorial pooches, the need to placate dogphobic colleagues and even the more than occasional accident on the office rug.

But many employers say it’s worth the inconvenience because it doesn’t cost them anything and it makes their employees better workers –  something money can’t buy.

And some think the animals are often more respectful than their owners.

Scott Fleming is the president of a firm that deals in china, crystal, silver and other fragile collectibles.

“They have not broken a single piece,” he relates about the pets at his office, before adding, “which is more than I can say for the rest of us.”