The presence of dogs in the workplace reduces employee stress and contributes to greater satisfaction at work, which reflects positively on employee performance. That is the main finding of the study carried out by American scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) titled Preliminary Investigation of Employee's dog presence on stress and organizational perceptions published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management.
The study included 75 employees of Replacements Ltd., U.S. manufacturer of tableware that allows its employees to take their dogs to work. The researchers compared three groups of employees who 1) took their dogs to work, 2) had dogs but usually left them at home and 3) did not own dogs. They measured the levels of their stress, satisfaction at work and commitment to the company.
The measurement of stress hormones was carried out by collecting saliva several several times a day. In the morning, all three groups of employees showed the same values. During the day, however, the stress of workers with dogs in the workplace declined, while in the case of the other two groups it increased.
"Differences in stress levels between the days when employees took their dogs to work and when not, were significant. Overall, these workers showed higher satisfaction level than it is common in the industry," concluded Randolph Barker, the study's lead researcher and professor of management at VCU School of Business.
According to him, dogs in the workplace can be a strong motivating factor to enhance employee morale. Not only do they reduce stress but they also promote collaboration among colleagues.
The whole study is available for download on the International Journal of Workplace Health Management website here.
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