5 Questions to Ask Before Making Your Office Dog-Friendly
Dog-friendly offices have become quite the trend. What started as a fringe perk has now become more mainstream across startups, creative agencies, and even entire industries like the tech sector. There are numerous studies showing the purported benefits of dogs on employee productivity, job satisfaction, and engagement — so much so, that some companies are hopping on the bandwagon with little planning. Some office managers effectively announce: “Have a dog? Cool — bring ’em in! We’ll even throw them a birthday party and post pictures on our company’s social media account.”
While it’s easy to get swept up in the trend with little forethought and planning, you’re asking for cultural and legal trouble by doing so. Ask yourself and your team these 5 questions first:
1. Is this an inclusive policy?
Dog allergies are not uncommon — nor is it uncommon for some people to be highly allergic to certain breeds and unaffected by others. How will the policy impact employees and applicants with allergies? How will you handle it if an employee has allergies to some of the office dogs, but not others? Will someone on either side of the equation feel unfairly treated? This is especially important to consider if senior executives or long-standing employees with social capital are particularly dog-friendly: it can be intimidating for a new hire or junior employee to raise a concern if the CEO is the primary Canine Enthusiast Onsite.
Seem unlikely to impact your team? It’s not.
Consider this real example: A software company had developed an informal dog-friendly policy early in its startup years. When the company was founded, a single employee had an emotional support animal. Then another employee had a well-behaved dog, so they decided that the dogs could keep each other company in the office. Before they knew it, the company had haphazardly developed a “dog-friendly” culture without an official policy. On any given day, there would be nearly a dozen dogs of varying sizes, breeds, and temperaments roaming the office. They effectively had free rein: sitting on furniture, being walked and fed by any passing employee, and following their owner into meetings. This was fine, until the company interviewed a promising job candidate who was highly allergic to dogs. He couldn’t even sit in a conference room without having an allergic reaction — and left before an interview could take place.
This comes dangerously close to a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Not to mention, a loss of talent for the company.
2. How will customers perceive pets in the office?
You understand the market dynamics and culture of your customers well enough to know how a dog-friendly culture might be perceived. If you’re not sure, ask. If you sell into more formal industries like pharmaceuticals or law, your clients are less likely to be amenable to a dog-friendly policy. If you’re in spaces like consumer goods or software, your customers may be more receptive to it.
If you sell absolutely anything — including services — which you almost certainly do (that’s how you generate revenue, after all), it’s safe to assume that some departments will be relatively active on phone or video calls. If a dog barks while a rep is on a call, what will customers think? Will they find it personable and endearing, or disrespectful and unprofessional? Is it possible you’ll lose credibility with your customers or be perceived as less reliable? Is it possible that employees will get distracted while on a call?
If so, it’s especially important to set clear expectations for how dogs behave and which parts of the office they’re allowed into. Which leads to…
3. How are dogs expected to behave?
It amazes me how often companies overlook this question, but expectations for dogs’ behavior vary widely between owners.
Some owners (or “dog parents”) see nothing wrong with dogs digging in the trash, jumping on furniture, or begging for food. Some are even happy to clean up “accidents” in the office — seeing them as inevitable. But many employees, even fellow dog owners themselves, are uncomfortable with this. It may not be appropriate to ask employees to change their behavior in the office to accommodate pets: there should be clear policies in place for how to respond if one has an accident, damages property, or habitually distracts the team. I recommend that you create a standard agreement that all owners are asked to sign before bringing their pets in. Not only does this help with your own liability (see below) and save time by standardizing the conversation, but it’s also much easier to talk to employees about how their pets should behave than about how their dog already misbehaved. It feels less personal and punitive when the conversations happen equitably in advance.
4. Have you accounted for liability?
Your existing liability insurance may not cover pet-related injuries or damage. Discuss it with your attorney before anyone sets paws in your office. You may also consider asking employees to take out supplemental insurance policies themselves.
I wish this went without saying, but sadly, it needs to be mentioned: If a dog in your office bites, growls, or acts aggressively toward any human in your office — including guests, vendors, or delivery people — the dog should be removed immediately and not allowed back. It doesn’t matter if they’ve never done it before, didn’t actually hurt anyone, or are too small to cause serious injury: that is a liability for your company. Period.
Keeping the dog on a leash, not allowing them near the person they attacked or mandating a behavior training course are all insufficient to absolve your company from liability.
5. Are you violating terms of your lease?
Many building owners have overt policies against pets that are not service animals. Some even have specific documentation criteria for each animal that travels through common spaces, including elevators, parking lots, and outdoor common spaces. Sometimes this is for liability reasons, sometimes for concern about damage to the property. Consider the impact on your security deposit and lease agreement — and have a discussion with the property manager or landlord — first.
There are a handful of experts both advocating for and advising against pet-friendly policies. But you know your team, space, and company culture best. Have thoughtful discussions before making any policy, and avoid lacking a policy altogether. An informal culture that haphazardly allows pets without clear vetting or expectation-setting is asking for trouble.
Do you have thoughts about pet-friendly offices? We’d love to hear them.
