An emerging trend in workplaces is the support of “pet-positive” pet owner practices as an employee benefit. Many workers in a company feel better about their place of work if the obligation of pet ownership is supported and taken seriously by an employer.
In an effort to keep employees happy, an increasing number of businesses are now extending benefits to pet parents. Traditionally, these benefits may have normally only been available to new parents of babies.
Benefits include flexible work arrangements like working from home or even paid time off to help get a new puppy established at home. The passing of a pet can be very traumatic, and bereavement leave can also be offered in some cases. While sometimes only available because the boss is nice, more progressive companies are actually beginning to formally add these benefits into actual pet policies in the workplace.
Any business looking to include pet carer benefits as part of their workplace policy will need to consider a number of factors like the types of pets covered, length of time available, and other pet carer eligibility criteria.
There are some silly names thrown around to describe these employee benefits; Pawternity and Furternity are two of the silliest that come to mind! However, regardless of the terms used, support like this for dogs and their carers is a positive move forward. Big companies like Google and Facebook have long held themselves up as dog-friendly companies, but there are many other workplaces offering pet benefits to their employees now.
It’s encouraging to see the recognition of pets and dogs as a massive responsibility owners’ have, and the important role they play in a healthy employee’s work/life balance. Importantly, workplace practices like these also lead to better outcomes for dogs which we’re super happy to see as well.
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