11/13/2023

The Benefits of a Pet-friendly Workplace

Now’s an opportune time to explore out-of-the-box ideas

Managers and organizational leaders are currently exploring the best ways to conduct in-person and hybrid work, striving to make the office as inviting as possible while leveraging in-office time for collaborative activities. In this moment of reflection about when, where and how work should be done, it’s an opportune time to explore out-of-the-box ideas.

Let us propose one you may not have considered yet: Your office pet policy. Based on a new article in the Journal of Management, published with our colleagues Carisa Lam at University College London and Kai Chi Yam at the National University of Singapore, we make an evidence-based case for welcoming four-legged companions as a competitive advantage.

Pet-Friendly Offices as a Recruitment and Retention Tool

Today, 66 percent of American households include a pet. The numbers are even higher for millennials and Gen-Zs. Almost one in five families added a pet during the pandemic shutdown. Over the past three years, employees have happily settled into work arrangements that involve their four-legged companions: snuggling up during a Zoom call or going on a mid-afternoon walk.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Harvard Business Review.