Pet lovers are rejoicing across the country as more employers are allowing employees to bring their pets to work. More importantly, most employers aren’t simply opening up a doggie daycare, but they are seeing the benefits that come with allowing employees to bring their furry friends into the office.

Researcher Randolph Barker found through his recent studies that average stress level scores fell about 11% among workers who brought their dogs to work, while they increased 70% for those who did not. According to a study by Virginia Commonwealth University, employees who were allowed to bring their dogs to work produced lower levels of stress causing hormones and those same employees reported having more job satisfaction and commitment to their work.

Even Best Companies Group is finding more and more employee comments that talk about how bringing pets to work, or even just having a dog or two around the office makes an employee’s day more enjoyable and increases their satisfaction in the workplace. Check out some of the great employee comments below taken from “Best Places to Work” companies to see how the office dog is often one of the best employee perks.

Employee Survey Question: What does this organization do that makes it a place where people would want to work?

Employee Answers:

“The environment – fun conference room, constantly stocked kitchen with food and drink, ping pong table, central air, and a puppy!”

“The culture is a constant flow of creativity and collaboration. The management takes care of employees and will hold open bars, order lunch and take everyone to events. Oh, and the dogs are awesome.”

“Really smart and cool people.  Dogs in the office.  Well stocked kitchen.  Real value for work life balance.”

“We have an unlimited time off policy, we allow dogs in our office, everyone’s work clearly affects the bottom line of the business and has real value, we have an extremely smart team (chess experts, many employees ivy league grads), and there’s a lot of room for innovation.”

“The company culture is awesome here. People bring their dogs, bike to work, run together at lunch, hike in the mountains, have a kegerrator, and participate in company teams in things like softball, soccer, etc.”

“We have a dog friendly workspace with 2-6 dogs that come in a day and then my favorite is the always stocked beer fridge.”

“Good group of people to work with. Having dogs in the office is good.”

Please note – These comments come directly from the BCG Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey. We do not edit or alter the responses in any way.

Interested in making your office pet-friendly? Check out Pets At Work by Purina! Their website features tips, information on how to get started, and what bringing a pet to work can do for employee morale and how it can make a positive impact on company culture. Click here to read more!

Does your company allow dogs or pets at work? If so, leave us a comment in the box below and let us know your thoughts on pets in the workplace!