A company in China is helping its employees de-stress by allowing them to bring their pets to work every single day. The internet marketing company in Shanghai has been practicing ‘Bring Your Pet to Work Day’ for a while now, and the results have been very encouraging – the staff are considerably happier and even work better as a team.
The idea of a perpetual Bring Your Pet to Work day belongs to the head of the company himself.. Worried that the highly competitive and demanding workplace was affecting his staff, Zhao Congchong wanted to do something to help them stay relaxed at work. Upon studying their profiles, he realized that most of the employees were pet owners, so he announced that everyone was welcome to bring their pets to work on a pre-decided day.
The initiative was a huge success – not only did the employees appear more relaxed, the pets also helped them bond better with each other. Realizing the potential of Bring Your Pet to Work Day, Zhao seriously considered making the event a permanent fixture at the office. “As a pet lover myself, I know what a difference it can make to have it around,” Zhao said. “But I also know it can have a negative impact on productivity, so I did not make this decision lightly.”
Eventually, Zhao decided to take his staff’s opinion in the matter. He organised an all-hands meeting to discuss the issue and, based on their responses, decided that the idea could definitely be implemented. So he set up an unofficial policy, allowing employees to bring their dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and other pets to work every day. The employees are visibly more relaxed, because they get to spend more time with their furry friends without having to worry about leaving them alone for several hours.
“Right now the animals just roam freely amongst our staff – they really do make our work less stressful,” Zhao said. “But I plan on allocating an office as a specialized pet area in the future, so they can play and rest on their own.” Chinese media reports that following the success of Congchong’s idea, other start-up companies are considering adopting a similar office policy.
But this Chinese marketing company isn’t the first to harness the relaxing power of adorable pets. Ferray Corporation, an internet-business in Tokyo Japan, has been encouraging its employees to bring their cats to work with them on a daily basis and the results have paid off – employees are reporting considerably lowered stress levels. The adorable felines have become so important to Ferray that the most important quality that they look for in job candidates is a love of cats!
Photos: CEN
