For a lot of the HowNow Team, our pets play a big part in our lives.
So when we chose our office spaces in both Mumbai and London, it was about more than great-tasting coffee and collaborative workspaces. Being able to bring your fur-babies was also on our list of “must-haves”.
We spoke with Pauline Taylor, our Head of People and proud owner of Tortie 🐢 about the importance of having a dog-friendly office, and the benefits it brings to our team 👇
We are based in a shared office that’s dog-friendly. We recognise that pets are part of people’s families and we not only care about our team but we care about what they care about.
A dog-friendly office is a great benefit to have. It’s proven that the presence of dogs decreases stress, makes people happier, and is a great catalyst for conversation - who doesn’t want to talk about how cute a dog is! So it enhances camaraderie in the team and boosts motivation.
It also helps those with dogs when faced with the guilt or financial burden of leaving their fur-babies at home. Why not all benefit from a cuddle and group walk together while giving lots of love and attention to the pup 😀
As long as you communicate when the dogs are coming in for those who are allergic or don’t like dogs then there are only positive factors associated with this.
We use a scheduling tool on Slack that allows us to know the days that others are going to be in. You’ll also often find us sharing videos and pictures of our furry friends on our #random Slack channel too.
Flexible working or the role employers take in creating a flexible workplace is only going to increase, which is why we’re constantly reviewing our benefits. It should be acknowledged that this is ‘how people work now’.
People are motivated to do their best work by different things, at different times and in different environments. There are so many companies, like us, who pride themselves in welcoming difference and acknowledging the benefits this brings to motivation, engagement and productivity in the workplace.
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for… some pictures of our four-legged friends!