Working Well November 26, 2024

Dog-friendly offices can be a big employee incentive. Here’s how to ensure a paws-itive experience for everyone.

While renovating the world’s largest teaching / non-profit animal hospital, designers tapped into veterinary expertise to learn more about dogs’ physical and mental needs.

Large companies like Amazon and Google have welcomed dogs at work for decades, with perks like custom canine badges, tasty treats, and dog parks on campus. Now dog-friendly workplace policies are gaining broader traction as employers compete for top talent and continue to encourage their teams to return to the office. 

It makes sense to Director of Pet Health Information Ann Hohenhaus, DVM, a senior veterinarian and oncology specialist at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York City. “Americans consider their pets part of the family,” she says. “You wouldn’t leave your kids home alone while you go to work, so should you leave your dog home alone?” She says separation anxiety is a particular concern following the pandemic, when many households acquired new pets and dogs became accustomed to their owners working from home. “They aren’t used to being alone. Here in New York City, we live in shared spaces where a barking, whining, miserable dog left at home can provoke complaints from the neighbors.” 

After supporting pet-friendly policies for more than a decade, AMC has found that employees can focus more completely on their work when they’re free from the distraction of wondering how their dogs are doing back at home. “People aren’t torn between their patients and their own pets,” Hohenhaus says, adding that they also provide a welcome respite for caregivers. “We care deeply about sick animals,” she says. “Playing with a healthy pet feels good, as opposed to always worrying about what we can do to help critically ill pets recover. Having healthy animals around is a big positive in terms of managing our employees’ mental health.” 

Located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the AMC has recently been undergoing extensive interior and exterior renovations. When the design team tasked with the makeover observed the positive interactions among staff and dogs in the office areas, they wanted to tap into the care professionals’ expertise to develop workplace design guidelines that would focus on dogs’ physical and mental requirements. The team administered a questionnaire and conducted interviews to understand how design can impact canine well-being. 

The resulting recommendations explain dogs’ needs in the workplace and suggest design elements to satisfy those needs, and it shares speculative layouts for private and shared offices. 

The team determined that safety and comfort are paramount, for both people and pets. Dogs need a space where they feel secure when their owners leave their desks. And although allergies and fear of or aversion to dogs generally aren’t of concern among AMC employees, most workplaces do have to consider these issues. Providing ways to enclose dogs, like gates or crates, can ensure they’re comfortable and isolated from people who might experience adverse reactions.  

Cleanliness is important, too. Staff shared that flooring selection is a particular challenge, because easy-to-clean surfaces are usually slippery and present challenges for mobility impaired pets. The design team recommends rubber flooring, which is comfortable for pets, stain- and scratch-resistant, easy to clean, and visually appealing. 

Socialization is another consideration. Providing space for people to play with pets and designating special times for interaction can help ensure that dogs get the attention and social time they need. 

Hohenhaus suggests that pet-friendly employers implement new policies gradually, with “take your dog to work day” and similar incremental changes. AMC, for instance, initially only allowed people with private offices to bring pets to work, since office doors could be closed to isolate them.  

The recommendations dovetail with AMC’s renovation and modernization efforts, and the design team is hopeful that the suggestions will be implemented on the animal hospital’s fourth and sixth floors as renovations proceed. “In the future, I think it’s likely that offices will be designed up front to accommodate pets,” Hohenhaus says. “When people design new workplaces with dogs in mind, the result will be optimum spaces for both species.”