Take your Children to Work Day hasn’t yet taken off in the US. It is observed at the fag end of April (though some companies do it whenever they like). “It’s fun,” says Prasun Mukherjee, a Mumbai-based HR professional who has had a stint with a dotcom company in the US. “But many companies are afraid of trivialising the issue. Providing crèches and childcare facilities in the workplace is a serious business. You don’t want that to get mixed up with the creation of marketing men.”

Take your Children to Work Day rubs shoulders with National Boss Day (October 16) and Administrative Professionals Day (the Wednesday of the last full week of April). Incidentally, the last — which has been around since 1952 — was earlier known as the Professional Secretaries Day before it acquired its current politically-correct avatar.

Standing out among all these is the Take Your Dog to Work Day, celebrated this year on 23 June. In the Indian environment, where work is considered something dead serious, most people would find the idea laughable. But in the US, where the accepted theory is that you should enjoy your work and you are most productive in a happy environment, canines are rapidly conquering the cubicle.

In 2005, some 5,000 companies celebrated the Take your Dog to Work Day. This year it has doubled to 10,000. The North Carolina-based Pet Sitters International, which started the Dog Day nearly a decade ago, says, “The celebratory event is intended to promote the human-animal bond by facilitating positive interactions between dog-less co-workers and their colleagues’ canine companions. However, there is much more to this annual festival of dog than simply celebrating man’s and woman’s best friend.”

“Laugh you may,” says Mukherjee. “But there is some logic behind it. People who have pets are comfortable showing them off to their co-workers. It creates a bond; gives a subject of conversation. Instead of office gossip — which is normally very harmful — you can talk about Toby’s ticks and tricks.”

For some companies, it’s not just a day; they have a policy of encouraging bringing pets to office the year around. In the informal dotcom era, the dog or cat as an office mascot was a familiar sight. You can find them in Indian companies too, generally around the workers’ canteens. They haven’t yet invaded the executive lunchroom; perhaps that’s too much of a dog-eat-dog world.

The dog-friendly have marshalled support for their cause. They quote a survey of businesses that allow pets in the workplace, conducted in 2000 by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. The findings are worth a second glance:

• 73 per cent of the companies surveyed said pets create a more productive work environment.

• 27 per cent showed a decrease in employee absenteeism.

• 96 per cent said pets created positive work relations.

• 58 per cent of employees stayed late with pets in the office.

• 100 per cent of the companies surveyed said they would continue to have pets in the workplace.

This is, of course, a poll of the believers. But mainline HR professionals also agree that having pets in the office improves morale and gets more out of the owners. The trouble is the others. You can’t expect everybody to be happy when Fido decides to christen the office shredder or chew up the optical mouse. Pets and their owners must follow rules (see box).

It won’t work in India unless work itself is shorn of its seriousness and companies realise that you can get much more out of employees if you create the proper environment. “But look at it this way,” concludes Mukherjee. “The next time you are talking about the bitch in the next cubicle, you could be doing so literally.”

DOG DAYS AHEAD

Stay out of the doghouse with this advice

• Make sure the boss and your co-workers are comfortable with the idea of a dog in the office.

• Bring only socialised, quiet, friendly and house-trained dogs to work. Leave aggressive, nervous or sick dogs at home.

• Use a leash and/or baby gates to keep your dog inside your cube or other open workplace.

• Dogs must be well-groomed and flea-free.

• Make sure wires, pens, rubber bands, and any choking or chewing hazards are all out of reach of your dog.

• Create a space for your dog with his own pad and toys.

• Ask someone to watch and walk your dog if you’re away from your desk.

Source: Monster Feature — A guide to workplace trends