In some workplaces across the country, today is “Take Your PET To Work” day. This Friday Funny comes from Ellen Wulfhorst of Reuters. Here is an excerpt.
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.
Interest in pets at work is growing, say organizers of “Take Your Dog to Work Day,” set for this Friday. Several thousand companies are expected to participate, up from a few hundred when the event began eight years ago.
Pets build bonds among workers and clients, said Galler, head of JobKite.com, where all 28 employees work remotely from home offices, along with 18 dogs, 13 cats, a parrot and a dozen fish.
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.
A survey by Simply Hired and Dogster, an online site, found a third of dog-owners would take a 5% pay cut to take their pets to work, two-thirds would work longer hours and half would switch jobs.
