Best antidote to a ruff day
Purina reckons pets and people are better together, and that’s the philosophy behind Purina Pets at Work Day, on Friday.
“While your furry friends might be lacking in the qualifications to hit this month’s targets, they’ll definitely bring other key attributes to the table including helping to lower stress levels and higher levels of job satisfaction, the perfect antidote to a ruff day, marketing head Jennifer Chappell said.
“If your boss thinks you’ll be horsing around with pets in the office, they’re wrong. In fact, pets can increase productivity and make for an utterly delightful day (even if they do spend most of it just lying around).
“There’s nothing like having pets in the office. Whether it’s a ‘mental health’ break to play games with them or bringing them to a new business meeting to break the ice, there are a heap of benefits to having some wagging tails around.
“At Purina we have pets in the office every day, and they’re so good for our spirits and our health, seeing as we’re always getting out in the fresh air to walk them. We want Kiwis to give it a go for just one day of the year to see how much fun it can be.” She did offer some tips though: Get management and staff on board. Work with management to decide which types of pets can come to work, and whether or not they need to be allocated different days. Some areas should be pet-free, and it might pay to check if anyone has an allergy or phobia.
Make sure to have water bowls, a nice warm spot to curl up, some toys for entertainment and, if appropriate, a litter box or two. It’s also a good idea to put a sign on the front door so visitors know pets are running loose in the office, so they know not to leave doors open and to expect a friendly sniff.
Take dogs for a walk at lunchtime and make sure they have regular outside toilet breaks.