Published August 30, 2012
Stockton Sentinel
Stockton, Kansas
Those of you who frequent our office
on Main Street in Stockton know that you will usually be greeted by our furry,
four-legged, and sometimes obnoxiously noisy hospitality staff. That would be
Shandy, an 11-year-old cockapoo; Halitosis (Hallie, for short; it’s obvious how
she earned her name!), a 5-year-old shihpoo; and Beauregard (or just plain
Beau), an over-grown yellow kitten. There are times when my own lhasa apso,
CoCo, joins in the mix, such as on grooming day, but he’s not used to so much
commotion and it’s a little too nerve-wracking for him to be here too
often.
We have some customers who love the
menagerie, and stop in just to see the animals – not needing any of us humans
or our services. And there are some customers who are not really amused by the
critters and simply tolerate the zoo in order to get what they need. I suppose
it’s possible that some people don’t come in at all because of the animals, but
they need to see The Great Oz for a heart.
Shandy, Hallie and Beau are not
alone in their workplace habitat or home-away-from-home. A story in the Salina Journal a couple months ago
stated that 2.3 million dogs accompany owners to work every day. In fact, the
story said, some of the nation’s largest employers are dog-friendly – like
Google and Amazon.com. Keeping employees happy is one of the main reasons cited
by employers.
I don’t know how they came up with
their numbers (I don’t think anyone ever called the Sentinel), but the American Pet Products Association survey done
last year said about 1.4 million workers take some 2.3 million dogs to work
every day. Now that means a lot of those people take more than one or two dogs
to work. One of the featured businesses in the story said that 15 to 20 of the
120 employees bring their dogs to work. It’s hard to imagine that many dogs in
one place and people still getting their work done!
Research on the subject (okay, I
Googled it) found a preliminary study that was published in the March issue of
the International Journal of Workplace
Health Management. The study found that dogs in the workplace reduces
stress and creates an enjoyable and satisfying job experience. According to the
study manager, Professor Randolph Barker (I’m not kidding, that’s really his
name!), employees with dogs reported less stress as the day progressed, while
those without dogs reported an increase in stress. Meanwhile, the dogs appeared
to increase employee interaction and communication, much more than businesses
that did not allow dogs to be present with their owners.
That being said, it’s no wonder that
here at the Sentinel, we have no
stress. Every week we face deadlines in order to get the paper delivered
electronically on time, get inserts stuffed, labels affixed, and bags to the
Post Office in a timely fashion, but because of our four-legged stress reducers
and increased employee interaction and communication, we don’t know anything
about stress. Our job experience is so enjoyable and satisfying, the dogs and
cat should be on the payroll!
I’m already past the Monday deadline
with this story, and still not feeling any stress. I just hope I can get this
to fly through the proofreading and editing departments!
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