Having spent the last 18 months working from home, with our canine companions by our side, it’s not surprising that as we start returning to the office, we are keen to take our dogs with us.
I think we all understand how our pet can help fulfill our creative potential by increasing our mental and emotional wellbeing.
From taking us on our daily, productivity-boosting walk to literally providing inspiration, our fur baby is integral to our life and work.
Interacting with animals actually causes our bodies to produce serotonin and dopamine which help offset depression and anxiety.
This explains why so many hospital programs have animal-assisted therapy programs as part of their chronically and terminally ill patient care.
Dogs reduce stress, increase creativity and productivity, and improve teamwork. Dogs are truly one of the best mood improvers ever.
Breaks
A lot of people believe that breaks are a waste of time and that they have to work continuously in order to have a great yield at work.
They couldn’t be more wrong. Why? Because an average person is not able to keep their focus longer than 20 minutes.
Dogs force us to take lots of breaks … most of them outside!
Teamwork
Dogs give us a chance of developing special rapport with one another. By allowing dogs in the workplace, the employees will find that connecting with one another is much easier, an aspect that promotes an effective team-work dynamic.
Activity
People involved in sport or who exercise on a regular basis tend to be more productive. If you have a dog, play becomes an essential part of the day.
If you take your dog to work, you’ll probably walk him there. Walking with a dog is a great morning and evening exercise, exactly what you need to boost your productivity.
Responsibility
Having a dog is a tremendous responsibility. You must ensure that you have trained your dog well enough, so he will behave properly in the workplace, and will always respond to your commands. You must be in full control of the situation.
This takes a lot of hard work and dedication.
Culture
Working in a pet-friendly atmosphere is a great productivity boost.
Animals fill the place with good and happy vibes, and who doesn’t like to come to work in such a loving atmosphere?
Creativity
Having our loving companion sitting close to us during work improves our creative thinking and ultimately our overall productivity.
Also creative thinking improves while we are walking and for a period of time shortly afterwards. A research study found that walking outside in the fresh air helped produce twice as many creative responses compared to sitting down.
The creative juices continued to flow even after returning to the office and sitting down at a desk. The upshot is that creative output improves as does creative quality.
So I double dog dare you to boost all aspects of your emotional and physical life and run or walk with the big dogs!
