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DOGS IN THE OFFICE - THE MANAGER'S BEST FRIEND?

High Wycombe

Basepoint welcomes our licensees to bring their dogs to work for an easier day, but do you know the health benefits involved? It’s well known that dogs can help their owners to create close, long-term relationships with others. And there is an increasing amount of research to back up this view.

The key benefits of dogs at work?
One study by Virginia Commonwealth University found that workers leaving their pets at home experienced much higher stress than those who were able to bring their pets into the office. In particular, employees who had pets at work exhibited an 11% drop in stress levels compared to a 70 % hike in the stress levels of those whose pets stayed at home.

Another study, by researchers at Central Michigan University, found that dogs can help with relationships at work as well. According to the research, having a dog in the office increased interpersonal bonds – in particular in one experiment, they discovered that those members of the test group who had a dog with them, rated their colleagues more highly in terms of closeness, trust and team cohesion.

According to Stephen Colarelli, a psychologists at the University, there are three great reasons for bringing dogs into the workplace.

1.      dogs lower stress, as well as your heart rate and blood pressure

2.      people are seen as more friendly and approachable with a dog in the office.

3.     it apparently increases cooperation between team members

The conclusion – don’t worry about those expensive team building sessions – take your dog to the office instead. You would be barking mad not to.

 

Source: Bonallack & Bishop