News for HR Professionals

Apr-2019-Pet-Gazette-News-for-HR-header

If you heard you could land your most highly desired recruits, engage your workforce to an even higher degree and keep your very best employees without increasing costs, wouldn't you want to know how?

The answer is simple: Support the love people have for their pets. That's the clear message from a groundbreaking study produced by Nationwide® and the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute: Employers that recognize and support the benefits of pets in our lives have an edge on the competition.

It's a case of doing well by doing good, and the benefits are wide-reaching, according to the nation's first and largest provider of pet health insurance and the pioneering non-profit foundation that studies the human-animal bond. Employees in pet-supported workplaces report feeling more connected to a company's mission, more engaged with their work, their bosses and their co-workers, and more likely to recommend and stay with their companies. Bonus: They're happier overall and more likely to engage in healthy activities such as regular exercise, which aids in keeping absenteeism and medical costs down.

The landmark study is based on a survey that was given to 2,002 workers (1,502 pet-owners and 500 non-pet-owners) who spend most of their working time in an office. Participating companies had a minimum of 100 employees, ages 18-64. Companies were divided by the kinds of pet-friendly policies, from none to many.

If you've struggled to make the case inside your company for pet-friendly policies, here's the help you need to open the conversation.

Pets make people happier...and healthier

Those who study the human-animal bond have long known the advantages of having pets. While once pets were considered "for the kids" or kept as mousers or working companions for farming or hunting, today's pets are more likely to be considered as full family members. Pets are adored not just by children in traditional-style families, but also by young professionals, mid- and late- career stalwarts and every manner and makeup of family known in our multicultural society. Americans love their pets and they appreciate employers that understand and support their lifestyle with pet-friendly policies and benefits.

Pets help overall health – both mental and physical – and their simple, unqualified love of those who care for them helps "pet parents" cope with the complexities of modern life. Peer-reviewed studies have shown companion animals help to fight depression and anxiety, and the need to care for pets keeps people better engaged in their lives and more social with other people.

Pets also keep people significantly more active: Those with pets average 3.5 days a week of exercise, vs. 2.8 days for those without pets, according to the Nationwide-HABRI study. An overwhelming 96 percent of surveyed employees agreed with the statement "My pet has a positive impact on my life."

Pet-supportive workplaces recognize how happier, healthier people make for a better workforce. Employees in the most pet-friendly companies say they feel significantly healthier overall, at rates of 97 percent for mental health and 98 percent for physical health, compared to 75 percent and 81 percent, respectively, in companies with no pet-friendly policies.