By Lindsey Durfee, Marketing Administrator
Last year, VCU’s Center for Human-Animal Interaction (CHAI) did a study on the value of having dogs in the workplace called “Benefits of Taking Fido to Work May Not Be Far Fetched.”And we couldn’t agree more with their findings!
1. Lower stress levels
2. Higher levels of job satisfaction
3. Positive workplace perceptions
At Madison+Main, we encourage our employees to bring their pups into the office on Fridays. We call them “Dog Fridays” – simple, sweet and to the point – and feel that they encourage collaboration, creativity, productivity and lower amounts of stress in the office.
Here’s why:
1. Often times we will get up and see each other on dog days instead of sending an email, an instant message or using the phones. There are three reasons for this a) we know there is a dog lying under someone’s desk, b) we will see a dog on the way or c) where ever the dogs are, we are.
2. We like to think that they fuel our creative side. You never know what ideas we will come up with after we watch a dog chase tennis ball, jump in our lap or do a trick for a potato chip.
3. Having our Main-iac dogs in the office is a big boost for us. We accomplish a lot when the pooches are around. For us, it is easy to refocus after taking a short break of interacting with our pets.
4. Who can be stressed when the dogs are here? We sure aren’t!
Having our dogs and other friendly pets in the workplace has made a positive impact at Madison+Main. We hope that you too have a pet-friendly office – but if not, come by and see us on a Friday!