Dogs have always been known as man’s best friend and for anyone who owns a dog, the bond tends to be truly remarkable. Tomorrow (Friday 23rd June) is ‘Bring Your Dog to Work Day’, an annual event that raises money for animal welfare – with the two official charities this year being All Dogs Matter and Animals Asia.
Who couldn’t resist Sam the Sausage Dog, Frank the Frenchie or Jock the crazy Jack Russell rocking around the office to brighten your day? Scientific studies have shown that the sheer presence of dogs around humans can reduce stress levels, and in particular within the workplace can help increased job satisfaction, team co-operation and staff morale – what’s not to love about that?
The effects of dogs on humans are so beneficial, that many charities now offer voluntary roles where you can bring your dog into care homes and hospices to meet patients with dementia, the love and affection that they bring not only guarantee to brighten someone’s day, but also help reduce stress, anxiety and depression with those living with dementia.
Of course, your dog would need to be well behaved, trained and not have a habit of cocking its leg on plant-pots at any opportunity.
Unfortunately, not all businesses are as dog-mad as we are. So, if you can’t quite talk your boss into taking your pup to work tomorrow, you can keep an eye for volunteering roles at s1jobs where you could spend a couple of valuable hours letting your dog brighten up someone’s day.
If you are lucky enough to be able to take your dog to work, we’d love to see some cute pictures of you doing your bit to reduce stress levels in your workplace. Share with us on Facebook or Twitter.