Bring your daughters to work day is a great idea. Who could
object to encouraging children to take an interest in their
parents' work and get some idea of what the workplace is like?
Some people have even included their sons in the event, and
why not? They can benefit by seeing how their parents make a
living, too.
But some important members of the family have been sadly
neglected, and it's time they had their own day in the office.
Businesses, pets, and workers would all benefit if the
workplace had more critters on hand every day. I'm not just
saying this because I work at home side by side with my two
home office bunnies. My suggestion is based purely on science.
We all know that living with pets can reduce our blood
pressure and lengthen our lives. Therapy pets in nursing homes
and hospitals have been shown to ease social relationships,
brighten the lives of the residents, and in some cases even
draw deeply depressed patients out of the shells when no human
contacts seemed to be able to reach them.
Certainly a workplace with a pet or two roaming the halls
would be a more pleasant place to be. Who wouldn't feel better
about himself with a friendly canine consultant standing by to
assure him he's still loved even if he can't figure out how to
recover that important file he accidentally deleted instead of
the threatening e-mail message to the boss he'd decided not to
send? And who wouldn't feel more relaxed typing away at their
workstation with a purring kitty stretched out comfortably on
top of the nice warm monitor?
I think we can all agree that bringing our critters to work
would go a long ways toward humanizing the job site. But now
we have scientific evidence that pets on the job would be good
for business, too. A national survey conducted by the American
Pet Products Manufacturers Association recently concluded that
animals not only soothe corporate nerves, they actually
increase efficiency and create a more productive work
environment. In 73 percent of the participating companies,
productivity increased with pets on the job, and in 27 percent
of the companies the presence of pets also decreased the rate
of employee absenteeism.
A growing number of libraries throughout the country are
discovering that they get more visitors who stay longer and
read more books when a library cat is present. A few
unfortunate incidents of clashes with cat-hating patrons have
been reported, and in at least one case a library cat was
forced to resign despite the protests of many of his reading
fans. Fortunately, he was quickly employed by the local
firehouse who not only enjoyed having a full-time firehouse
feline on duty by also found the building's mouse population
soon declined radically.
If your office, like mine, is graced with rabbits, you'll find
your productivity soaring as the helpful little furry
coworkers efficiently shred all your old paperwork (and
occasionally some important papers if you leave them within
rabbit-reach) and never forget to remind you when you're due
for a mental health break.
If you're unlucky enough to work in an unenlightened
environment that is totally animal-free, there's still some
hope for your mental health. Help may be as close as your
desktop computer. If you can access the Internet, your
computer can become your window to the natural world. Websites
from all over the planet can bring round-the-clock wildlife
action and scenic vistas right into your office cubicle. Watch
lions going about their daily routines at www.africam.com, or
check in on the brown bears of Alaska at
www.nationalgeographic.com/bearcam. Get an amazing close-up of
salmon eggs hatching or young hatchlings developing at
www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/iande/html/videocam.cfm. The
images you see are occurring in real time, so you may need a
bit of patience trying to observe critters operating on
different time schedules.
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