Bring your dog to work day: Why it's time to add 'pet-friendly' to workplace flexibility strategies

When promoting workplace flexibility, most companies boast non-restrictive schedules, unlimited PTO and hybrid office spaces. But for some, those perks mean nothing if they can't have their pet by their side.

Nineteen percent of applicants searching for jobs between Christmas day and New Year's Eve expressed a preference for roles that came with "dog-friendly" office spaces, according to data from flexible work company Flexa Careers. That's up from just 12% the week prior.  

"We first saw the rise in demand of people wanting to be able to bring their dogs to offices when we came out of the lockdown," says Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO and co-founder of Flexa Careers. "Millions of dogs were adopted during the pandemic, and the same uptick happens every year around Christmas. People want to bring dogs to the office with them, whether for socialization or just to save on doggy daycare." 

Read more: Want employees back at the office? Not without their dogs

A typical 9-to-5 schedule isn't compatible with many of the needs and wants of the workforce anymore, which is why Flexa Careers' platform allows job seekers to search for roles based on what they want from a working environment, including filters for jobs with flexible hours or locations or dog-friendly offices. Flexa Careers itself is a dog-friendly work space, with over half of the company owning dogs and actively bringing them into the office when they can. The benefit, Johnson-Jones says, has helped the small company preserve its office culture and retain valuable employees.

"We are seeing more companies offer a remote work model with the choice of an office — and for the people who are coming into the office, they're getting the option to bring their dog," Johnson-Jones says. "I think that will continue to be embraced by more companies. As long as nobody's severely allergic to dogs it's a very easy and quick way to accommodate more employees."  

Unlike in-office child care — which is often stunted by safety rules and regulations set in place by the state or the city — the pet policies for the office are much more lax and often come down to a given workforce's comfort level. For workplaces that may experience a more varied range of acceptance, Johnson-Jones said she has seen offices restrict the number of pets allowed at one time, resort to pet-friendly areas or floors as well as specific pet-friendly days that employees can opt in and out of.  

"There's all of this innovation because there is a need for it," she says. "Work has become so intertwined with people's lives that now the idea of wanting to bring your dog to an office is not seen as particularly shocking. Rather, it's something that adds enormous value to employees." 

Read more:4 steps employers can take to create a pet-friendly workplace

In Flexa Careers' own office it has boosted employee morale, engagement and collaboration, according to Johnson-Jones. It's become common for the team to bond over their dogs as well as go out after work to pet-friendly restaurants or bars for company happy hours. It has even become a talking point in interviews with prospective employees.

"When people apply to us, they will mention our dogs because they're on the website and they'll talk about bringing their own," Johnson-Jones says. "It's become a talent attraction tool that I would not have anticipated five years ago." 

Of course, there are precautions employers looking to implement pet-friendly policies should take. Johnson-Jones suggests having an open and honest discussion with employees about boundaries in order to build schedules that work for everyone, allowing the dogs to meet outside of the office first so they don't become territorial and making sure there's a behavioral standard.

"It's important to offer an environment that suits as many people as possible," Johnson-Jones says. "Not everybody is going to have a dog, and you can't favor dog owners over parents or vice versa, but I think it's giving people the option to pick and mix the flexibility that they want so that everybody's happy."