Dogs in the workplace? It’s something many of us would love to see. Unless you work in an animal shelter or as a veterinarian, however, you probably won’t see many canines around.
However, employees at two companies in Singapore might see dogs and cats at work from next year, subject to a plan by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), reports The Straits Times.
Improving Mental Health
The hope is that the furry friends will help employees with their stress. The SPCA hopes to launch their new corporate wellness program by the second quarter of 2023. Two companies, including a consultancy firm, have said they’d be interested in being a part of the program should it launch next year as planned.
SPCA Executive Director Aarthi Sankar spoke about the increased focus on mental health as being a factor in this decision. “Mental health and wellbeing is a key issue and workplace stress is a factor,” he explained.
“So we believe that having animals at the workplace can help employees relieve stress”.
Helping Both Animals and Employees
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee described the plans as being “mutually beneficial” to both employees and animals. Like Sankar, he discussed the mental health and wellbeing of workers.
Sankar went on to explain that the program would also help animals with socialization, with the potential for employees to adopt the animals that come into their workplace. She also expressed the importance of ensuring the safety of workers and animals alike. Not only that, but there would be a need to check that the workplaces and landlords of the office space were happy to host animals too.
And for those employees who may not be dog people, they can always have cats come to visit instead.
