I want you to meet someone. His name is Piper and he wears a white suit with a blue bib. Piper is my proofreader, or at least he would be if he could read. You see, Piper is my parakeet and he's usually sitting on my shoulder when I write and work in the office. He's quiet most of the time but he can occasionally get noisy, especially if he's in his cage and I'm out of the room. He doesn't like working alone. I've been trying to teach him to talk but the most he does is turn his head slightly and look at me as if to say, Lady, you're nuts.
There was an interesting article on Fox News online today about employers and their pet-friendly policy (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200460,00.html) The article says that a survey conducted by Simply Hired and Dogster reveals that 1 out of 5 employers are pet-friendly and allow their employees to bring their pets to work. Personally, I think that's great! I like animals and feel that pets in the workplace can be a good thing.
This coming Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day and millions of Americans across the country are encouraged to take their canine companions to their places of employment. For me, I take my pets to work every day. Evidently, many of you do, too. The article says that one third of dog owners would take a small pay cut if they were allowed to bring their dogs to work. Productivity gains would also improve and absenteeism would fall with more pets on the job.
More and more workers are home-based telecommuters. Many of our clients bring fully furnished and equipped home offices to the marketplace as an added benefit of their candidacy. Integration of home life and work life is much more common today than ever before with the advances of technology. Is it any wonder that we like to have our pets around us when we work? It's been proven pets reduce blood pressure and stress. People in high stress jobs might consider a hamster or a guinea pig or even a kitty in the office to help keep stress under control and avoid stress-related health problems.
Elementary education teachers long ago discovered that a pet in the classroom improves class behavior, especially among those students with behavioral disorders or other problems. There is just something calming about animals. Maybe it is their total guilelessness - we don't have to worry that they are working against us when our backs are turned. Maybe it is their total trust in us even when we screw up big time or have an exceptionally bad day. Animals are cool. Take your dog to work with you on Friday and spread the love!