Pets are an integral part of people’s lives. Sixty-eight percent of US households, a total of 85 million families, own a pet which is up from 56% of households in 1988. In 2017, Americans spent $69.5 billion on their pets.
While older generations loved their pets, millennials seem to love their pets more than any previous generation and have made them an integral part of their lives. More millennials own pets than have children. In 2016, 48% of Millennial women (ages 20 to 35 at the time) were moms compared to 57% of women the same age in 2000. Approximately 73% of millennials currently own a pet. There are Twitter accounts with millions of followers about animals (Dog Feelings and Dog Rates), entire Reddit groups about pets (Reddit Dogs) and, of course, innumerable pet photos on Facebook. There is even a movie (and a forthcoming sequel) about what pets do when their owners are not home, which I am very excited to see with my kids.
People with Pets are Healthier
Pets do a lot of good for the people in their lives. Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo discovered that in people already taking medication for hypertension, their blood pressure response to stress was cut by half if they owned a cat or dog.” Pets help people to socialize. A person that is walking a dog is a lot more approachable than a person merely walking down the street (except maybe if your dog is similar to mine- five whole pounds of fury). Pet owners also have a lower rate of obesity than non-pet owners. This comes as no surprise to me because I have to let my dog out practically every time I turn around.
Bringing Pets to Work
According to a 2016 report from the Society for Human Resource Management approximately 7 percent of offices in the US allow pets at work. Among the companies that allow pets are Amazon, Bissell, and Zoosk. 6,000 pets join their owners every day at the Amazon headquarters in Seattle. There is also a bring your dog to work day that some companies celebrate.
While this is not something that can be accommodated at every job (think about those that work in the food industry or elsewhere), there are workplaces where it can work, and companies should consider it. Pets and the workplace can work well together. Anyone that is in an office setting could potentially bring their pets to work with them.
As stated above, there are some health benefits from having pets that employees may also experience if they bring those pets to work including lower amounts of stress. Also, this is a perk that the employees that have pets really love. They get to spend more time with their dogs and cats and do not need to worry about what their pets are doing at home all day. As long as the pets are not inhibiting employees from doing their jobs (like this cat), making a mess, or causing allergic reactions, then this is something that may be possible in a lot of offices and can help attract talent. Especially when we know people are looking for jobs that accommodate their lifestyles and perception of work-life balance, allowing them to bring someone they love (their pet) to work may be something they really enjoy and value.
If any of these issues become a concern, then the best option is to address them with the employees. Obviously, if someone is severely allergic to a cat or dog, then you will need to either rescind the policy (if the workspace is small) or limit the policy to certain parts of the building. If an animal is not well-behaved, then the company will need to address it with the owner and should consider banning the animal from the premises.
Also, you should place some limits on the kinds of pets that are allowed on the property. I would limit the policy to dogs and cats (you may be required to allow miniature horses ), also maybe considering the limitation of breeds given aggressive nature similar to what breeds house insurance will not cover on homes. Lastly, no one needs to bring their emotional support alligator to work.
Service Animals Must be Allowed on the Property
One quick side note. All businesses that are open to the public must generally allow people to bring their service animals into the facility. The ADA National Network provides a great explanation of what a service animal is:
A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.
Titles II and III of the ADA permit the owners of these service animals to be present anywhere members of the public, program participants, customers, or clients are allowed.
Jacquie Brennan and Vinh Nguyen at the ADA National Network write that
When a person with a service animal enters a public facility or place of public accommodation, the person cannot be asked about the nature or extent of his disability. Only two questions may be asked:
1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
Allowing an employee to bring their service animal to work may be a reasonable accommodation. It will depend on the job that the employee does to determine whether allowing a person to bring an animal is a suitable accommodation.
Pet Insurance and Companies
One of the incentives that some companies have begun to offer their employees is pet insurance. Currently, only 1-2 percent of pet owners have insurance for their pets.
As I said before, people love their pets and 68% of US households have a pet. Because companies are always in competition to attract the best talent, some companies have begun offering pet insurance. It is something that all companies should consider. Currently, about 1 in 3 Fortune 500 companies offer pet insurance.
Why are companies offering this benefit? Owning a pet can be expensive, especially when these animals get sick or injured and they need to go to the vet. On average, a dog owner will spend more $700 on veterinary bills per year and a cat owner will spend a little over $300. Pet insurance is a perk that the company can give to show employees that they care., and it is something that could be beneficial to most of a company’s workforce.
Pet Leave and the Workplace
Pets get sick. Many companies do not recognize the need to care for a pet as a sufficient reason for that person to stay home from work. However, other companies have begun to see the importance of this to their employees and have started to allow employees to call off sick to care for their sick pet. Some companies allocate a specific number of hours for employees to use to care for their pets. While others have allowed employees to use their sick or vacation time to take care of a pet. Truthfully, regardless of your policy, it is probably a good idea to allow people to take off time to care for their pets.
Consider a pet owner whose dog has to get emergency surgery. If you do not allow that employee to take off work, then they are going to be upset with the company. If they do come to work, they will not be focused on their job because the will be too worried about their pet. Unless it is really necessary for them to be at work, some time off can make the employee feel appreciated by the company and motivate them to work harder when they return.
New Pets and Pawternity Leave
Some workplaces are offering a new benefit for employees: the chance to bond with a new puppy. About 5% of pet owners have been offered paid leave from their job to adjust to owning a pet. Other employers allow employees to take off several days without pay while they adjust to owning a dog.
Again, while this is not right for every business, it can be something that is useful to attract millennials because so many of them have pets. It can help create a culture where the employees feel like the employer cares (and hopefully actually does care) about employees.
Pet Bereavement
Unfortunately, pets die. The death of a pet can even be as hurtful as the loss of a human significant other. It is an even more tragic experience when the pet owners have young children that also experience the loss of their pets. Many parents do not send their children to school the day or a couple days after they lose a pet when those children are young. The kids are devastated. The parents are too.
Again, allowing employees that need time to adjust to the loss of a pet can be incredibly helpful. This is a small benefit that can easily be included as part of the reasons that an employee may use sick leave, vacation time, or paid time off. Doing so will make the employee feel valued and will help them to be motivated when they return.
Conclusion
Pets and the workplace may seem like a combination that does not mix. However, as companies continue to compete for talent, it is a benefit that all companies need to consider. Most of the people in your office probably have a pet. Some of them will even have more than one pet. Providing benefits that help employees with pets is a way to improve morale and show employees that a company cares and recognizes what is important to them both inside and outside of the workplace.
The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, then you should speak with a lawyer about your specific issues. Every legal issue is unique. A lawyer can help you with your situation. Reading the blog, contacting me through the site, emailing me or commenting on a post does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and me.
The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.