Workers are forced to take regular breaks for dog walks instead of \u201ceating lunch at their desk
\n OTTAWA
\nDaisy moseys over to greet visitors, her tail wagging. She\u2019s listed as chief morale officer on Tungsten Collaborative\u2019s website, and is among the many pets joining their owners returning to Canadian offices after working from home through the pandemic.
\nThe 12-year-old Lab sniffs for treats. Before long, a Basset Hound named Delilah waddles over, offering up her belly for a rub, along with other four-legged colleagues Eevee the Greyhound and German Shepherd puppy Hudson, who lets out a bark.
\nDaisy\u2019s proficiencies include \u201cstress management\u201d and \u201cclient engagement,\u201d according to her biography, which notes that many of the industrial design studio\u2019s \u201cgreatest innovations can be traced back to a long walk\u201d with her.
\n\u201cWe encourage people if they have pets to bring them (to work),\u201d Tungsten president Bill Dicke, 47, said in an interview with AFP.
\n\u201cYou develop this relationship being at home with your pet on a day-to-day basis and all of a sudden you go back to work, so now they have to be crated for the day or roam the house alone, it\u2019s not fair to them,\u201d he opined.
\n\u201cThe tolerance for pets (at work) during the pandemic has increased,\u201d he added.
\nThese dogs sleep under desks or in the boardroom throughout the day, chase balls down a hallway or chew squeaky toys. There\u2019s a row of water bowls in the office kitchen, if they get thirsty.
\nThe Ottawa company is listed by the Humane Society as dog-friendly, and it\u2019s actually helped drum up business, Dicke said, as well as increased staff productivity.
\nWorkers are forced to take regular breaks for dog walks instead of \u201ceating lunch at their desk,\u201d for example, and are not fretting about their pet being left alone at home, he explained.
\n\u2018Going to w-o-r-k\u2019
\nJohan Van Hulle, 29, joined Tungsten last year. Its dog policy, he said, \u201cwas a key part of the decision\u201d to take the job, after working from home with Eevee.
\n\u201cAllowing dogs is a good indicator\u201d of a company\u2019s culture, he said, and the kind of \u201cnot too corporate\u201d workplace that appeals to him.
\nAcross town at construction joint venture Chandos Bird, people designing a nuclear research laboratory are visibly smitten by 10-year-old Samson.
\nHis owner Trevor Watt didn\u2019t want to leave the Yorkshire Terrier alone after moving into a new house and starting work in a new office in January.
\nIt was supposed to be a temporary arrangement until Samson got used to his new surroundings, but he endeared himself with colleagues and staff in neighboring offices, who take turns walking him.
\n\u201cHe loves going to work,\u201d Watt said. \u201cWhen I say I\u2019m going to w-o-r-k, he\u2019s ready to jump in the car.\u201d
\nWatt likes it, too. \u201cI don\u2019t have to worry about him.\u201d
\n\u201cDogs in new environments get very anxious, when left alone,\u201d he explained. \u201cI think a lot of new owners know that now that they\u2019ve had their puppies through Covid.\u201d
\nIf Samson needs to go out, he just puts a paw on Watt\u2019s leg. He has toys and a bed at the office, and wanders from desk to desk.
\nPetting him is a great way to \u201cdecompress after a tough meeting,\u201d commented Watt\u2019s boss Byron Williams.
\nDogs in the workplace, however, can also create challenges, he said, such as \u201cif somebody is scared of dogs\u201d or allergic to dander.
\nOne of Watt\u2019s coworkers is terrified of dogs. It was agreed with her that Samson would be leashed the days she comes to the office.
\nAt other offices, workers surveyed by AFP lamented carpet stains, disruptive barking and pet hair or drool on clothes \u2014 not a great look for impressing clients.
\nDowntown, many stores and cafes have water bowls for dogs, and several shopkeepers such as Emma Inns of the Adorit fashion boutique bring their dogs to work.
\n\u201cIf they\u2019re home alone, they get into trouble,\u201d she said of Rosie, Oscar and Camilla.
\nAs store mascots, however, they\u2019re great for business.
\n\u201cEveryone knows their names,\u201d Inns said. \u201cSome people come just to see them, but then buy something.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Workers are forced to take regular breaks for dog walks instead of \u201ceating lunch at their desk OTTAWA Daisy moseys over to greet visitors, her tail wagging. She\u2019s listed as chief morale officer on Tungsten Collaborative\u2019s website, and is among the many pets joining their owners returning to Canadian offices after working from home through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[7008,7010,7009],"class_list":{"0":"post-259602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-canadian-offices","9":"tag-dogs","10":"tag-work-from-home"},"yoast_head":"\n