Something for the weekend: For those employers struggling to motivate staff to return to the office, Rover.com has the ultimutt solution to boost morale – doggy perks.
Latest research by the pet-sitting and dog-walking network has revealed that two-thirds of dog owners (66%) would be more willing to get back to the workplace if it was dog-friendly.
With 42% of respondents saying they had welcomed a new pooch into their family since the start of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, its not surpring some employees are reluctant to give up homeworking and return to the office.
Infact, Rover.com’s study found that nearly one in five of those surveyed would welcome allowing dogs in the office over private healthcare, flexible hours and Christmas parties, one in six (14%) said they would even forgo an annual bonus and one in three (30%) indicated they would be willing to give up free tea and coffee in order to have dogs in the office. Ast-hound-ing!
The research is part of Rover.com’s Best dog-friendly companies 2021 report, which also revealed that the desire to have a few friendly mutts mooching about in the office is not confined to employees, with more than four-fifths (82%) of the businesses listed believing that being dog-friendly helps attract new recruits.
The report also shows that one-third (30%) of organisations have added to their dog-friendly company perks since the pandemic began in March 2020. These include paid leave following doggy adoption and bereavement, as well as the provision of pet birthday gifts and dog-friendly happy hours known as “pawties”.
However, be warned, bringing your very own Marley into the office is not entirely stress-busting. More than half (52%) of dog owners agree that “having a little accident” in the office would be the most embarrassing behaviour their dog could display at work, followed by “cocking a leg” at a desk (48%). Surprisingly, respondents scored these higher on the doggy cringe-ometer than their pooch being romantically attracted to the leg of their boss (33%).
Here at Employee Benefits, we love our pooches and think that being allowed to bring pups in the office is a totally pawsome perk, especially after a ruff commute. So we say let’s make dog-friendly offices a fur-ever benefit!