Taking Dogs Into the Office: A Novel Strategy for Promoting Work Engagement, Commitment and Quality of Life

How Guilt Drives Emotional Exhaustion in Work-Pet Family Conflict

Work-pet family conflict has emerged as a novel form of work-life conflict, reflecting the increasingly significant role that pets play in modern families. Guided by role theory, work-pet family conflict is anticipated to produce outcomes similar to those of traditional work-life conflict. Accordingly, we developed a conceptual model to examine how work-pet family conflict affects employees' emotional exhaustion. Drawing on role theory, we tested whether the experience of guilt serves as an affective mechanism linking work-pet family conflict to emotional exhaustion. Data were collected from 356 pet owners to empirically test the model. The results revealed a significant relationship between work-pet family conflict and emotional exhaustion, mediated by employees' experienced guilt. This study underscores the relevance of work-pet family conflict as a distinct form of work-life conflict and highlights the role of guilt as a key emotional driver that contributes to employees' emotional exhaustion in this context. Hence, organizations can delineate strategies to mitigate work-pet family conflict by offering flexible work arrangements, implementing pet-friendly policies, providing pet care benefits, and fostering a culture that supports work-life balance. These measures can potentially help employees better manage the demands of both work and pet responsibilities.

Pets in the workplace: a scoping review

There is a large and growing body of literature proposing that there are benefits to employees and workplaces when pets are allowed to accompany their owners to work. This article reports a scoping review of research that is workplace-based and that provides information on the reported benefits or problems of allowing employees' pets at work. The databases Scopus, Discover and Google Scholar were searched with the initial search terms "pets AND workplace AND research." Results were reviewed initially by title to remove items where, for instance, "PET" was used as an acronym. Studies were included if they provided information on research into human well-being and/or work or task performance and pets at work. This included research into the presence of pets while working from home, as the home can be considered a workplace in this situation. A total of 189 papers on pets at work were identified from the searches. The abstracts were reviewed and papers that did not report research into the benefits and challenges of employees' pets at work were excluded, leaving 31 results. The majority of studies used survey methods and did not include validated psychometric measures of key variables including stress. Findings indicated that the presence of employees' pets at work may reduce stress and lead to more positive work-related attitudes, but these findings may not apply to all employees or all workplaces. Negative aspects of pets in the workplace include health risks to humans and animals, cultural concerns and dislike or fear of some animals, and the proportion of participants who raised these concerns or agreed with them varied widely between studies. However, there is little evidence on the prevalence of risks or how they are addressed, and there was no data on how work performance, absenteeism or staff turnover were related to pet-friendly policies at work. More research is required, and some directions for future research are suggested.

Going to the office - What's in it for the dog?

Benefits and challenges of dogs being present at the office were analyzed from three perspectives: the company view, the dog owner (employee) and the dog view. For companies, office dogs may serve as a branding symbol, leading to higher employee satisfaction and productivity, increased stress resilience and fewer turnover intentions. Yet, companies need to apply pet policies, risk management strategies and mitigate nuisance such as barking, loose fur or excrement. Additional breaks to walk the dogs are required and other employees or customers may be irritated. Employees take advantage of stress reduction, social support, higher job satisfaction, not having to leave their animal at home. Still, an office dog is an added responsibility in terms well-being, safety, distraction from work and emotional involvement. Although the animal perspective has not yet been scientifically addressed, we propose potential benefits such as less separation distress by having the owner nearby, higher social engagement and additional walks during breaks. Challenges for dogs may involve unwanted attention, aversive environmental stimulation, being restrained via leash or crate, irritation caused by conspecifics, emotional contagion or individual requirements.

The Role of Dogs in the Relationship between Telework and Performance via Affect: A Moderated Moderated Mediation Analysis

Simple Summary

In this research, we conducted a study with an overall sample of 401 individuals to test a mediating model between telework, positive affect, and self-reported job performance. Additionally, we analyzed whether dogs’ physical closeness and emotional attachment would moderate this mediating path. The results showed that telework was significantly and positively related to positive affect, which in turn, increased self-reported job performance. Moreover, the mediation model was moderated by the dog’s physical closeness while working and emotional attachment to them, in such a way that the relationship between telework on self-reported job performance, via positive affect was strengthened when the owner‘s physical and emotional closeness to their dogs was higher. In sum, telework might be an efficient strategy to improve performance among employees who have dogs at home, because working with them nearby, when emotionally attached to them, are factors that enhance the individual‘s self-perceived performance in telework.

Abstract

Although there is evidence that pets may help individuals facing significant daily stressors, and that they may enhance the well-being of their owners, little is known about the benefits of pets for job performance. Since the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, teleworking was a strategy implemented in many countries to reduce the virus widespread and to assure organizational productivity. Those who work from home and who own pets may work close to them. Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study aimed to analyze whether positive affect mediated the relationship between telecommuting and self-reported job performance and if psychological and physical closeness to the pet would moderate this relationship in such a way that it would be stronger for those who worked closer to their pet, and who were more emotionally attached to them. For this study, we collected data from 81 teleworkers who did not own pets, and from 320 teleworkers who owned pets. Both answered an online questionnaire. Findings: Results from the study showed the existence of significant differences between those who owned and who did not own pets regarding positive affect and performance, in which those who owned pets reported higher levels of positive affect and self-reported performance and perceived telework more positively. Moreover, positive affect mediated the relationship between telework and self-reported job performance. Furthermore, emotional and physical closeness moderated the mediating effect. This study contributes to a better understanding of the human-animal interaction and how pets can be a personal resource able to change their owners‘ affective experiences and job performance while they are working from home. The findings demonstrate that telework may be a suitable organizational strategy for pet-owners.

A Scoping Review of the Benefits and Challenges of Using Service Dogs for Finding and Maintaining Employment

Purpose Having a service dog can help increase the independence of people with disabilities and they are considered a reasonable accommodation within employment settings. The objective of this scoping review was to understand the benefits and challenges of using a service dog in gaining and maintaining employment. Methods Systematic searches of seven international databases led to 19 studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Using a narrative review approach, we analyzed these studies regarding their sample characteristics, methods, results and quality of evidence. Results Nineteen studies were included in the review, which spanned across 6 countries over a 24-year period. Our findings showed that the benefits of having a service dog included improvements in employment status, employers' recognition of service dogs as a workplace accommodation, lower absenteeism, ability to travel to work, and other career-related benefits. Challenges with having a service dog included discrimination and exclusion, and lack of employers' awareness of service dogs and people with disabilities. Conclusions Our findings highlight several benefits and challenges of having a service dog in the workplace. More research is needed to explore the impact of service dogs on employment, health and productivity in the workplace and how this may vary by type of disability and service dog.

Animal-Assisted Intervention and Health Care Workers’ Psychological Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Healthcare settings have recently increased the use of companion animals in the workplace to provide emotional support to people with disabilities, but there is limited empirical research on the effects of these programs on healthcare workers. However, it is reasonable to speculate that Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) may have positive effects on health care workers (HCWs) by buffering the negative effects of work-related stress and other occupational psychosocial risk factors. The aim of this review was to examine the beneficial effects of AAIs on the psychological well-being of HCWs. A systematic review was conducted in December 2021 to gain insight into the positive effects of pets on HCWs in the workplace. Searches were conducted in the following databases: Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, including studies between 2001 and December 2021, and 12 articles were included in the review. The results indicate that implementing the AAI program in a busy clinic is feasible and that the program is accepted by medical professionals because of the immense psychological benefits it provides. However, the healthcare professionals disliked the experimental design that forced them to leave their workplaces at a certain time.

Perspectives on facility dogs from pediatric hospital personnel: A qualitative content analysis of patient, family, and staff outcomes

An increasing number of children's hospitals feature full-time resident facility dogs, which are specially trained to work alongside pediatric healthcare professionals to improve the patient experience. This qualitative study aimed to describe the role that facility dogs play in the lives of patients, families, and hospital staff. A total of N = 73 pediatric healthcare professionals that worked with 46 facility dogs across 17 children's hospitals in the US completed a set of open-ended questions in an online survey. Responses were analyzed via a conventional thematic analysis and organized into themes and sub-themes. Facility dogs were described to benefit pediatric healthcare professionals' daily lives through improving stress and wellbeing, staff relationships, and job-related morale. Negative impacts included increased burdens and responsibilities in the workplace. Facility dogs were also described to benefit patients and families by helping build rapport, providing a comforting presence and positive resource, and normalizing the hospital environment. In conclusion, facility dog programs were found to be a promising complementary intervention to benefit both staff as well as and patients and families. Future research is warranted to examine short-term and long-term implications of facility dog programs for staff, patient, and family wellbeing.

Friends with Benefits: The Positive Consequences of Pet-Friendly Practices for Workers’ Well-Being

Although there is evidence that pets may help individuals who are facing significant daily stressors, little is known about the benefits of pet-friendly practices for their owners’ well-being. Based on the social exchange theory and on the Rusbult investment model, we argue that organizational pet-friendly practices will be viewed as a source of support from an organization that increases workers’ organizational identification, which in turn will lead to higher levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction. For this study, 208 working adults answered an online questionnaire. Results from the study showed that the more pet-friendly practices the higher the workers’ organizational identification, which led to higher indices of psychological well-being and life satisfaction. This study contributes to a better understanding of the human–animal interaction and how pets can function as a resource for individuals’ well-being at work.

"Furry tales": pet ownership's influence on subjective well-being during Covid-19 times

The social distancing required during Covid-19 times tended to make people feel lonelier than usual. Those with pets might, however, have experienced this less, because pets are known for fostering their owners’ subjective well-being. Building on a recently published structural equation model, our study enhances the understanding of subjective well-being by including the construct social distancing during Covid-19 times. In order to answer our research question—How does human-pet relationship need support influence subjective well-being by considering social isolation during Covid-19 times?—we build on the basic needs theory, assuming that humans as well as their pets have an inherent need of autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Using a multivariate data analysis method, namely partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we establish a path model and examine the relationship between human-pet relationship need support and subjective well-being by including psychological distress and social isolation during Covid-19 times as mediators. We operationalize subjective well-being as a three-dimensional construct consisting of positive affect, happiness, and life satisfaction. In a sample of 215 pet owners in the USA, supporting their need increases subjective well-being, and decreases the psychological distress and loneliness caused by social isolation during Covid-19 times. Furthermore, psychological distress decreases subjective well-being, whereas perceived loneliness during Covid-19 times does not. Our main contributions are to not only enhance our knowledge on the importance of human-pet relationships in critical times, but also to provide policy makers with insights into what influences people’s subjective well-being, which is closely related to their psychological health.

Dogs at the Workplace: A Multiple Case Study

Simple Summary

Pet-friendly policies are becoming more common in the workplace, but little is known about how the presence of dogs influences the work environment. For this reason, the paper includes a study on how dogs influence the work environment and under which circumstances companies can benefit from a pet-friendly policy. An inductive research approach was used for this study. Qualitative data were conducted by interviewing dog-owners who routinely bring their dogs to the office and persons in management positions in the same companies. Finally, the results of the evolving data analysis through successive iterations was formed into a grounded theory. The results of the study generally support the belief that dogs at the workplace can have a positive influence on individual and collective well-being of organizational members in an office environment. However, the study shows that these positive effects of dogs are linked to certain prerequisites that need to be fulfilled in the company. These include flexible hours, autonomy, and open communication. While those requisites are not necessary in order to be able to implement pet-friendly policies, they are highly relevant when companies seek to decrease stress for employees and improve the work atmosphere and social capital.

Abstract

As the work environment is increasing in competitiveness and stressfulness, more and more companies try to increase employee well-being. One option is allowing employees to bring their dogs to work, building on the considerable evidence that dogs have a positive influence on people’s well-being. However, little is known about how a dog’s presence influences the employees and the companies in offices. Therefore, we empirically scrutinize the presence of dogs in organizations and the impact of pet-friendly organizational policies, with multiple case studies with semi-structured interviews as their foundation. Based on an inductive approach for the data analysis, we found that organizational members consider that dogs can lower their stress, improve communication, and foster social cohesion when a flexible organizational culture is in place. This includes the following: Problems in the company are openly addressed; employees have job autonomy, with flexibility to take breaks; and mistakes and errors are allowed to be made by employees and their companions alike, and room to find solutions is given. The inflexible permission of pets at work can, on the contrary, create pressure and stress in employees. For the business world, this implicates that this kind of incentive only leads to success if the right framework and culture is in place, and it cannot only be seen as an instrument to increase employee well-being.