Employment law attorney Hillary J. Collyer reviews Dogs at Work -– A Practical Guide to Creating Dog-Friendly Workplaces, written by Liz Palika and Jennifer Fearing and published by the Humane Society.
The Humane Society of the United States has published a great resource for employers that either allow pets in the workplace or are considering adopting such a policy — Dogs at Work: A Practical Guide to Creating Dog-Friendly Workplaces
In Part I, Palika and Fearing walk employers through the process of implementing a dog-friendly workplace — from considering the idea, to exploring the potential benefits of a dog-friendly workplace in terms of benefits to employees as well as to the employer’s business, and finally, to analyzing potential concerns and solutions. In regard to potential benefits to employees, Dogs at Work points to polls and surveys which demonstrate that having pets in the workplace improves employee mental health, morale, and physical health. As for potential benefits to your business, Dogs at Work cites benefits such as reducing employee absenteeism, contributing to higher employee productivity, inspiring creativity, and building positive work relationships.
Dogs at Work, however, does not merely present a one-sided argument in favor of allowing pups at work. Rather, the book outlines legitimate concerns for employers, including legal and liability issues, health and safety issues, and individuals’ fear or dislike of dogs. It also provides possible solutions for addressing those issues.
Dogs at Work also provides valuable information on how to go about implementing a dog-friendly policy and establishing appropriate guidelines. The authors suggest surveying employees to see how they really feel about a pet-friendly policy. They even provide a survey that the Humane Society used when it was contemplating allowing dogs in the workplace. After getting a feel for your employees’ reaction to the idea of allowing dogs in the workplace, the book suggests forming a committee to work out the details of the company’s policy and then implement the policy. Further, the workplace “dog committee” can be tasked with enforcing the policy and periodically evaluating the program.
Part II of Dogs at Work focuses more on the dogs themselves. For employers concerned with permitting certain breeds of dogs into the workplace, the book sets forth typical character traits for various breeds. For instance, the authors identify breeds that are generally considered to be friendlier versus those that have a greater tendency toward aggressive behavior, breeds that have a tendency to be destructive versus those that tend be be less destructive, and breeds that are thought to be more inclined to engage in excessive barking compared to breeds considered more likely to be quiet. Dogs at Work also explores issues such as obedience and house training and provides a checklist for dog owners who are considering bringing their dog to the office.
Finally, Dogs at Work provides employers with valuable tools in the form of sample policies, surveys, presentations, and other resources that you can use to formulate your own pet policy. Dogs at Work is a great resource for any employer seriously considering adopting a pet-friendly workplace policy and receives four paws up from this reviewer!
Hillary Collyer is an associate with DiMuro Ginsberg, PC, in Alexandria, Virginia. Her practice primarily focuses on civil and commercial litigation. She has experience handling civil, commercial, contract, employment, business, and other tort actions before state and federal trial and appellate courts and arbitration panels. Ms. Collyer is experienced in all phases of litigation, including pre-litigation counseling and strategic advice, investigations, pleadings, discovery, law and motion practice, injunctions, evidentiary hearings, trials, arbitrations, appeals, and settlements.
Hillary has been taking her dog, Lady, to work with her for several years. She may be reached at hcollyer@dimuro.com.
Haha! My dog looks like he came from the same litter as Hillary’s.
Loved the review and love the concept! After having two employees bitten in the face by dogs this year, it is unlikely we’ll be doing this for some time, but I have it on my “wish list.”
Our company dog barks and aggressively approaches me everyday when I come in to work, and nobody cares, they say its my fault, no other dogs here bark at me, so I don’t believe that. I have a job to do and sometimes I can’t enter a certain area because the dog is there, why should I have to change my daily duties because of a Dog? I have been here 5 years and the dog less than one, I feel this is harassment of a neglectful nature. What recourse do I have? By the way, I am not fond of Dogs, but I don’t mind them being around, but I would rather not have barking dogs around if I could help it.